HM Treasury

Income Tax

Robert Neill: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in each region earn between the 2014-15 higher rate threshold and £55,000.

Mr David Gauke: The number of individuals with total income between £41,865 (higher rate threshold) and £55,000 by each Government office region in 2014-15 is projected to be:   RegionTaxpayers (thousands)  North East84North West and Merseyside251Yorkshire and the Humber173East Midlands163West Midlands197East of England274London421South East441South West215Wales96Scotland211Northern Ireland51UK2,590   Table note:   Projected estimates for 2014-15 is based upon the 2011-12 Survey of Personal Incomes using economic assumptions consistent with the OBR’s March 2014 economic and fiscal outlook.   Some UK taxpayers reside abroad, or their region is not known. Therefore, the sum of taxpayer numbers across countries and regions will not match the UK summary.

Public Appointments

John Woodcock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions his Department has had requests for appointments by exception to the Senior Civil Service turned down by the Civil Service Commission since 2010; and who was appointed for each such post.

Andrea Leadsom: I refer the hon. Member to the Answer the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office gave him on 10 November 2014, Parliamentary UIN 213040

Pay

John Woodcock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Instant Rewards of what value were given to his Department's officials in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Andrea Leadsom: HM Treasury does not have or operate an instant reward scheme.

Corporation Tax: Northern Ireland

Ian Paisley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to give the Northern Ireland Assembly power to vary the level of corporation tax in Northern Ireland.

Mr David Gauke: In ‘Building a Prosperous and United Community’ the Government Committed to make a decision on whether to devolve corporation tax powers to Northern Ireland no later than Autumn Statement 2014. Significant legislative and technical work has taken place to date and we remain on track to meet this timetable.

Taxation: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2014 to Question 210913, when he plans to begin public information campaigns in Scotland to inform taxpayers and businesses about changes to the tax system in Scotland.

Mr David Gauke: The Scottish rate of income tax will be introduced from April 2016. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will contact individuals who will be affected by the introduction of the Scottish rate from autumn 2015. HMRC will continue to work with stakeholders and provide updates to businesses about the changes ensuring those affected will have the information and support they need in advance of the introduction of the Scottish rate.

Income Tax

Adam Afriyie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in work did not pay any income tax as a result of changes to the personal allowance threshold in each of the last three financial years.

Mr David Gauke: By April 2013, the cumulative effect of the Government's increases in the personal allowance for those aged under 65 years (born after 5 April 1948 from 2013-14 tax year) since 2010-11 had taken 2.8 million people out of income tax liability.   The year on year growth over the three years requested is shown in the table attached.   Tax YearTaken out of tax since 2010-11 by PA increases (millions - cumulative)2011-121.42012-131.72013-142.8

Carbon Emissions

Caroline Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2014 to Question 207058, if he will discuss with (a) the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and (b) the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills the implications for his policies on financial stability of the statements given to the World Bank seminar on integrated reporting on 10 October 2014 by the Governor of the Bank of England on unburnable carbon and market failures; and if he will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: I refer the hon. member to the answer [the Chancellor of the Exchequer] gave her on 2 September 2014, Official Report, column 221W

Taxation

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was spent on collating, distributing and mailing the recently sent annual tax summary letter.

Mr David Gauke: The cost to print and post annual tax summaries sent to individual taxpayers is estimated to be around £5.3m.

Minimum Wage: Prosecutions

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many successful prosecutions for breaches of national minimum wage legislation there have been since 1997.

Mr David Gauke: I refer my honerable friend to the response provide by the Solicitor General on 16 October 2014 http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=209683

Revenue and Customs

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff HM Revenue and Customs employs; and how many and what proportion of such staff have been allocated to the enforcement of the national minimum wage in each of the last 10 years.

Mr David Gauke: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has responsibility for National Minimum Wage (NMW) policy and legislation and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforces NMW on behalf of BIS. Staff across HMRC contribute to enforcing NMW, including people who work in legal advice, debt management, technical support and criminal investigation amongst others. ONS publishes staffing figures in the Annual Civil Service Survey reports

Minimum Wage

Emily Thornberry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2014 to Question 205614, what proportion of the penalties imposed in each year have been successfully enforced; and how much of the amount of penalty imposed is outstanding.

Mr David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage very seriously and has increased the financial penalty percentage from 50% to 100% of the unpaid wages owed to workers, and the maximum penalty from £5,000 to £20,000. These new limits are now in force where arrears are identified in pay reference periods on or after 7 March 2014. The Government will also bring in primary legislation as soon as possible so that the maximum £20,000 penalty can apply to each underpaid worker. The vast majority of employers pay penalties upon being issued with a Notice of Underpayment. Where they do not, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will seek to recover through debt management processes. In the period 2009/10 - 2013/14 HMRC issued over 3,500 penalties totalling nearly £3m. Of these, 2 per cent are currently being pursued through debt management processes..

Tax Allowances: Multinational Companies

Mr George Howarth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the most recent estimate is of the cost of tax incentives and tax relief currently available to UK-based multinational companies.

Mr David Gauke: An answer could only be produced at disproportionate cost.  HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes estimates of the cost of individual tax incentives and tax reliefs. Main tax incentives and structural reliefs can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs. Minor tax incentives and structural reliefs can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/minor-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs. These include tax incentives and reliefs which will be claimed by UK-based multinational companies, as well as domestic firms and groups based outside the UK.  There are also some allowances and reliefs which HMRC does not have sufficient data to estimate the cost of. They can be found at this address: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-allowances-and-reliefs-in-force-cost-not-known

Tax Avoidance

Mr George Howarth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen the corporate tax regime to prevent UK-based multinational companies from practising tax avoidance in developing countries.

Mr David Gauke: The Treasury is committed to helping developing countries collect the tax they are due and building the capacity of developing country tax administrations is key to this. Working with the Department for International Development and HM Revenue and Customs, the Treasury is supporting capacity building projects bilaterally – through DfID country programmes and HMRC’s Capacity Building Unit – and through regional tax organisations and International Organisations.  The UK strongly supports ongoing work in the G20 and OECD to develop global solutions to corporate tax avoidance. As part of this the UK announced it would be the first of 44 countries to formally commit to implementing the new, common country-by-country reporting template for multinationals to report profit and tax information to tax authorities to help risk assessment.

Tax Avoidance

Mr George Howarth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to tackle tax avoidance by global technology firms.

Mr David Gauke: This Government has been relentless in its crackdown on tax avoidance, and has taken a range of action to prevent avoidance at the outset, and to detect and counter it effectively where it persists. The Government has made 42 changes to tax law, closing numerous loopholes and introducing major strategic reforms to the UK tax system, such as the UK's first General Anti-Abuse Rule. Supported by the Government's investment of £1 billion in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to tackle tax avoidance and evasion, HMRC has secured over £77 billion in compliance yield since the start of this Parliament. As part of this, since April 2010 HMRC has secured around £31billion from large businesses. So it should come as no surprise that we are considering action in this area. In his recent Conference speech the Chancellor stated that action will be taken to stop technology companies that go to extraordinary lengths to avoid tax in the UK. The Chancellor's foreword in the UK position paper on "Tackling aggressive tax planning in the global economy", published at the last Budget, stated that such behaviour is unfair and wrong. Further details will be set out this Autumn. In addition, the UK is working with the G20, OECD and other countries to take forward the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. Part of this involves work on the tax challenges of the digital economy through the Task Force on the Digital Economy, and UK officials are fully engaged in this process.

Welsh Language

Mr Mark Williams: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the need to provide access to his Department's services in Welsh.

Andrea Leadsom: The Treasury is fully committed to providing government services in the Welsh language where there is demand for them. As part of this the Treasury can provide translation of documents and of content we publish on an ad hoc basis if requests are received.

Cybercrime

Charlie Elphicke: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the effectiveness of the Payment Services Directive in tackling online fraud.

Andrea Leadsom: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations as part of the usual policy making process.   As part of the ongoing negotiations on the revised Payments Service Directive, HM Treasury has been engaging closely with the Financial Conduct Authority. This has been to ensure that the UK fulfills its objectives by supporting a clear, proportionate and effective Payment Services Directive II, which aims to promote competition, transparency and greater protection for consumers, including protections against online fraud.   It might be useful to know that the Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations. This is available online at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm.

Child Tax Credit

Tim Farron: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of sharing child tax credits proportionally between care givers where custody is split.

Priti Patel: Although splitting the support may appear straightforward, the reality is likely to be quite different. If, under current arrangements, parents cannot agree who should receive the support, they are just as unlikely to agree about how the payments should be split where more formal arrangements exist.   Directing payment of Child Tax Credit to the person mainly responsible for looking after the children ensures that the money goes to the person most likely to be providing day to day care. Even where care of the child is shared it is usually the case that there is one person that bears more of the weight of everyday responsibility for the child and meets the everyday expenditure.   The Government has already prioritised investing in early education and child care to support all families, including those with separated parents, through: extending the free entitlement to provide 15 hours a week of free early education and child care for all three and four-year-olds, and to 40% of two-year-olds from lower income families; and providing 70% of child care costs through the Working Tax Credit and extending this support under Universal Credit to those working fewer than 16 hours a week.

Climate Change Levy

David T. C. Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been raised each year by the Climate Change Levy since it was introduced.

Priti Patel: Historical information on Climate Change Levy receipts can be found in Table 4 of the HM Revenue and Customs ‘Climate Change Levy and Carbon Price Floor Bulletin’. This is published on the HM Revenue and Customs website: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutybulletins.aspx   All figures in the table are on a cash basis and from 2013/14 onwards include receipts from Carbon Price Floor.

Developing Countries: Taxation

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that developing countries who cannot sign up to the automatic exchange of tax information in its current form benefit from greater local transparency in taxation.

Mr David Gauke: HM Treasury and the Department for International Development meet regularly to discuss issues of common interest, including tax transparency. The UK funds the Global Forum Secretariat and the World Bank Group to provide support to developing countries that wish to implement international standards of tax transparency and join the Global Forum. We have also worked closely in the G20 to produce a roadmap to assist developing countries in implementing the new standard of automatic exchange of information (AEOI) and stand ready to help those that wish to participate in AEOI.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Police and Crime Commissioners: South Yorkshire

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many and what proportion of votes were cast by post in the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner by-election; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Gary Streeter: Information on the number and proportion of votes cast by post at the recent by-election is held by the Police Area Returning Officer for South Yorkshire, rather than the Electoral Commission.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps the Electoral Commission has taken to ensure that electoral registration officers recognise their legal obligation to conduct door-to-door canvassing for the purpose of electoral registration; and what steps have been taken to assess levels of awareness of that duty amongst those officers.

Mr Gary Streeter: Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have a general duty to take all necessary steps to maintain the electoral register, including making house-to-house enquiries. There are also provisions in law requiring EROs to follow up any non-responses to household enquiry forms and invitations to register with personal visits.The Commission provides comprehensive guidance for EROs which sets out their legal duties, including in relation to making house-to-house enquiries, and what they should be doing to comply with these.In monitoring progress with delivering the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, the Commission’s teams across England, Scotland and Wales are engaging regularly with EROs. This work includes checking to ensure that arrangements are in place to enable the necessary visits to be made and that these visits are then carried out in practice.

Prime Minister

Armed Forces: Casualties

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will erect a memorial to honour the memory of the servicemen and women who lost their lives in Afghanistan.

Mr David Cameron: I want to make sure that the contribution of all those who worked so tirelessly and courageously to secure our freedoms in Iraq and Afghanistan will be honoured. I have asked the former Chief of the Defence Staff, The Lord Stirrup, to lead a national effort in planning a new national memorial and raising the money to get it built. The Government will help to make sure that every pound raised goes directly on the memorial, by contributing the value of any VAT due.

Radioactive Waste

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the agenda for the Northern Future Forum in Helsinki on 6 to 7 November 2014, what matters in respect of Finnish and Swedish experience with underground geological disposal of radioactive waste he plans to raise at that meeting.

Mr David Cameron: Discussion at the Forum focussed on the competitiveness of education systems and the promotion of innovative businesses, with a particular focus on clean energy.

Department for Work and Pensions

Widowed Parents Allowance

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claimants of the widowed parent's allowance claimed that allowance for less than one year in each year from 2001 to 2014.

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average number of years is which claimants of the widowed parent's allowance have received payments for.

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average weekly amount received by claimants of the widowed parent's allowance was in each year from 2001 to 2014.

Steve Webb: Widowed Parents’ Allowance (WPA) is one of DWP bereavement benefits and provides financial support to bereaved parents eligible to Child Benefit on behalf of their child. Questions can be answered from analysing data the Department publishes every quarter via the Tabulation Tool – see link: http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/bb/tabtool_bb.html For example, in February 2014, about 15% of WPA claimants have been claiming for less than a year and half of them between two and five years; claimants receive on average about £108 per week.

Welfare Assistance Schemes: Bedfordshire

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding his Department provided to (a) Bedford Borough Council and (b) Central Bedfordshire Council for local welfare assistance schemes in 2014.

Steve Webb: The table below shows the funding provided by DWP to Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council in relation to local welfare assistance schemes for 2013/14 and 2014/15.  2013/142014/15Local AuthorityProgramme FundingAdministration FundingTotalProgramme FundingAdministration FundingTotalBedford Borough Council£399,829£84,487£484,316£399,829£77,441£477,270Central Bedfordshire Council£355,903£75,205£431,108£355,903£68,934£424,837

Employment Schemes

Mr George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have refused to take community work placements and have had benefits withdrawn as a result to date.

Mr George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are on community work placements.

Mr George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Bradford West constituency are on community work placements.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in each constituency in (a) London and (b) England are on community work placements; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have (a) been referred to and (b) participated in the community work placement scheme to date.

Esther McVey: The information is not readily available. The Department works to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.

Palliative Care

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance he issues on the use of the DS1500 to support people at the end of life to die in their preferred place of care.

Mr Mark Harper: The sole purpose of the DS1500 is to support claims to a range of social security benefits from people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness by a healthcare professional. Guidance for healthcare professionals who complete the DS1500 is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/306630/medical-reports-completion-apr-14.pdf

Welfare State: Reform

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2014 to Question 203664, when he plans to start the public consultation on the implementation of section 40 of the Welfare Reform Act 2008.

Steve Webb: I will be making a written ministerial statement soon to address this issue.

Children: Maintenance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2014 to Question 203665, when he plans to publish a report on the initial findings of the series of behaviour change trials carried out by his Department to test different interventions that tackle barriers that prevent parents making regular child maintenance payments.

Steve Webb: The series of behaviour change trials are now complete, and full evaluation is on-going. Where appropriate, findings will be published once full evaluation is complete. Trials that we have found to be successful are already being considered for wider implementation and we will be incorporating the learning from all our trials into our approach to tackling compliance and arrears.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many specialist disability organisations were participating as sub-contractors in the Work Programme (a) when Work Programme contracts were first issued, (b) when the first stocktake was taken and (c) according to the most recent stocktake.

Esther McVey: In respect of Point a), Work Programme Contracts were first issued in June 2011.For points b and c), from the stock take it is not possible to identify Specialist Disability Organisations specifically. The stock take identifies the name of each subcontractor; the sector they are from (Private, Public or Voluntary) and the Tier they deliver to either Tier 1(end to end delivery) or Tier 2 (specialist provision). The stock take is published on a regular basis. The latest iteration (Sept 2013) can be found using the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/organisations-that-supply-services-to-the-work-programme-providers

Work Experience

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people (a) were referred by jobcentres to, and (b) have participated in, his Department's work experience scheme in each year since 2011.

Esther McVey: The following table presents the number of work experience placements starts by people of all ages for every year since 2011. Data is only available up to and including May for 2014. The information is published as part of the Youth Contract Official Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pre-work-programme-and-get-britain-working#youth-contract   PeriodWork experience placement startsJanuary - December 201137,920January - December 201266,500January - December 201384,200January - May 201455,750 Notes: 1. The table shows the number of starts rather than people. Some claimants may have started more than one work experience placement 2. A work experience start is defined as the date the claimant accepted their work experience placement with the employer. This is input by an adviser to the Jobcentre Plus' Labour Market System. 3. Data relating to work experience referrals are not available 4. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Statement of 13 October 2014, Official Report, column 18WS, on universal credit, when the last claim for legacy benefits or tax credits will be accepted.

Mr Mark Harper: As has already been announced, the current business case assumes for planning purposes that the last new claims to legacy benefits will be accepted during 2017. Following this the stock of remaining legacy claims will progressively decline, and the Department will migrate the remaining claims to Universal Credit. Should there be no change in the labour market outlook or the pace at which claims are migrated, the current business case assumes for planning purposes the bulk of this exercise will be complete by 2019. Universal Credit is being implemented in a safe and secure manner using a test and learn approach. Taking this approach has allowed us to accelerate our plans for national roll-out of Universal Credit to all Jobcentres and Local Authorities from February 2015, and will deliver £7 billion in economic benefits per year.

Home Office

Independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Board

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward proposals for the creation of the Independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Board.

James Brokenshire: Following the commitment made during the passage of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014, legislation to establish an Independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Board will be brought forward shortly.

Business: Cybercrime

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of business awareness of cyber-crime; and what information her Department holds on financial loss resulting from cyber-attacks.

Karen Bradley: The Government makes no specific assessment of business awareness of Cyber Crime. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills conducts an annual Information Security Breaches Survey which gathers a range of data from businesses. In the 2014 survey 79% of respondents said that company management placed a high or very high priority on security. 68% of large organisations and 54% of small businesses provide ongoing security awareness training to their staff. Estimating the costs of cyber crime is challenging. The UK cyber security strategy noted "a truly robust estimate will probably never be established, but it is clear the costs are high and rising". Research used in the strategy suggested that costs to UK could be in the order of £27 billion per year. The Home Office has been focussing on improving and expanding the data on the prevalence of different types of cyber crime in order to develop more informed estimates of cost of cyber crime. The Home Office has set up a new external working group to improve those estimates.

Cybercrime

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contribution the National Crime Agency international liaison officers have made to a cohesive international approach to cyber-crime.

Karen Bradley: The NCA has a network of around 140 International Liaison Officers (ILOs) which covers over 100 countries. The National Crime Agency's ILOs are available to provide support to all the Agency's investigations, including those for cyber crime led by the National Cyber Crime Unit. The National Cyber Crime Unit has a strong working relationship with international partners. Over the past year the National Cyber Crime Unit has led the UK response in a number of global operations targeting malware.

Human Trafficking

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms her Department has put in place to assist non-UK minors who are trafficked for sex.

Karen Bradley: The Government is clear that where children are found to have been trafficked, regardless of exploitation type, their safety and welfare needs must be addressed as a priority and that child victims require tailored support which addresses their specific needs and vulnerabilities. All local agencies including local authorities, police and Border Forcehave statutory duties to safeguard children as part of their localresponsibilities, regardless of nationality or immigration status. A child’s welfare is always the overriding consideration. Responsibility for the care, protection and accommodation of all child trafficking victims rests with local authorities. local authorities have well-established child support arrangements and a statutory duty under the Children Act 2004 to safeguard and promote the welfare of all childrenin need of protection, including trafficked children regardless of their nationality or immigration status. Under these arrangements, looked after children are provided with access to all their needs be they in relation to education, accommodation, psychological or health needs.Local authorities co-ordinate the arrangements for each looked after childto ensure they are safeguarded and have their welfare promoted.In January 2014 the Government announced proposals to trial specialist independent advocates for trafficked children. The trial, which began on 8 September 2014, will last for a period of 12 months across 23 local authorities in England. The Modern Slavery Bill gives these advocates a statutory basis and the status they need to effectively support and represent the child. The Bill commits the Government to lay a report before Parliament setting out the steps the Government will take in relation to advocates for victims of child trafficking under these powers. Lessons learned from the trials will be detailed in the report, at which point we will be in a better position to assess what works best in supporting and protecting these vulnerable children.

National Crime Agency: Northern Ireland

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the concerns over the lack of powers of the National Crime Agency (NCA) in Northern Ireland in paragraph 25 of the report on the UK by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; and if she will take steps to support making the NCA fully operational in Northern Ireland.

Karen Bradley: The National Crime Agency (NCA) operates UK-wide but as a result of not securing legislative consent the activities of the NCA in Northern Ireland are restricted. Under current arrangements the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is able to access information and advice from the NCA including from its Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Command. What is missing, however, is access to operational support.This government is disappointed by the decision of the Northern Ireland Executive not to agree to give NCA officers police powers. However, policing is devolved in Northern Ireland, and this is something we must respect. We continue to support Northern Ireland Justice Minister David Ford’s efforts to secure full operational powers for the NCA under appropriate accountability arrangements tailored to Northern Ireland’s structures.

Riot Control Weapons

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects to take a decision on use of water cannon by the Metropolitan Police Service.

Mike Penning: The Home Secretary is currently considering the police request for water cannon to be authorised for use in England and Wales. There are a number of scientific and medical issues which need to be properly considered. This testing is yet to be completed. The Home Secretary will evaluate the findings carefully before making a final decision. The Home Secretary's decision will be announced in due course.

Cybercrime

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle online fraud.

Karen Bradley: The Cyber Security Strategy published in 2011 provides a strategic response for the UK on tackling cyber threats including online fraud. We have invested £860 million over five years through National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP). Approximately 10% of this has been spent on building law enforcement capabilities to respond to cyber crime. This includes the establishment of the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency (NCA), and cyber teams within each of the Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) across England and Wales. We are also bolstering the law enforcement response through the creation of bespoke fraud units in each of the ROCUs, delivered with extra Home Office funding over the past two years. We have also brought Action Fraud, the national reporting point for fraud and financially-motivated cyber crime, into the City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud. This ensures that a single organisation is responsible for the collection and analysis of reports on these offences, and sending intelligence packages to forces for investigation. In 2013/14 City of London Police disseminated around 40,000 crimes to police forces for investigation and we are working with the City of London Police to raise this further.We are also working closely with law enforcement, industry and third sector partners to support individuals and businesses to be better protected. This includes national and local level action to increase their awareness of the risks and adopting safe online behaviours. The Cyber Streetwise awareness campaign, funded by the NCSP, helps individuals and businesses understand how to stay safe online as does the Get Safe Online week held in October this year. The second phase of the campaign, including a refreshed website and online materials, launched last month. Action Fraud also circulates real-time information on the latest fraud threats via its website, social media channels and though police forces and businesses. The Government’s Cyber Information Sharing Partnership, within CERT-UK, is also enabling industry to share information on online threats including fraud, helping to reduce their vulnerability and the impact of online fraud on UK businesses.

Domestic Violence

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many domestic violence prevention orders have been served since March 2014 in (a) Hackney North and Stoke Newington, (b) Hackney local authority area, (c) London and (d) England.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office does not hold the information requested. Individual police forces are responsible for collecting information relating to the Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs). The Government has committed to assessing the effectiveness of DVPOs in the new year. In addition, as part of our commitment arising from the report published in March 2014 by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary "Everyone’s business: Improving the police response to domestic abuse", the Home Office is developing national data standards to ensure that consistent and comparable data on domestic abuse are collected by the police and submitted as part of the Annual Data Return.

Domestic Violence

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding is provided for police forces to enable them to serve domestic violence prevention orders; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The costs of running Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) are being met from local policing budgets. The DVPO model was extensively tested as part of a 15 month pilot in 2011-12. The pilot forces were able to operate DVPOs within established budgets during the last financial year.

Entry Clearances: Russia

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the people named in the European Magnitsky Recommendation were granted UK visas in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Entry Clearances: Russia

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the people named on the US Magnitsky list were granted UK visas in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Extradition: USA

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were extradited from the US to the UK in (a) each year between 2004 and 2013 and (b) 2014 to date; and how many such people were US nationals.

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were extradited from the UK to the US in (a) each year between 2004 and 2013 and (b) 2014 to date; and how many such people were UK citizens.

James Brokenshire: The information is set out in the table below. Information regarding the nationality of those extradited from the United States to the UK has been kept since 2007. The figures apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland only. Scotland deals with its own extradition cases. People extradited from the US to the UK.Total extraditedUS nationals20044Not known20051Not known20064Not known2007702008101200970201052201152201240201342 (includes 1 dual national)   People extradited from the UK to the USTotal extraditedUK citizens200482200512620061910 (1 dual national)2007902008622009164 (1 dual national)2010125 (2 dual nationals)201183 (2 dual nationals)201220122013116

Offences against Children: Databases

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which body set up the National Image Hashing Database; which agency hosts that Database; and who is responsible for meeting its costs.

Mike Penning: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Gangmasters

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2014 to Question 212649, how many cases of exploitation were referred by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to the Pay and Worker Rights Helpline in each of the last three years.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2014 to Question 212649, how many cases of exploitation have been identified by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority in sectors that they do not regulate in each year since 2010.

Karen Bradley: The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) do not capture information on exploitation identified purely outside the sector they regulate. The GLA receives calls to its intelligence and licensing sections from individuals raising issues or seeking information that are immediately identified as not falling within the remit of the GLA. Those individuals are advised to contact the Pay and Work Rights Helpline directly. It is not possible to distinguish the nature of those calls as that data is not collated by the GLA.

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2014 to Question 212705, what specialist needs of male victims have been identified by her Department through the National Referral Mechanism; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: Support for male potential victims of human trafficking is offered through the victim care contract run by The Salvation Army, in England and Wales. Support is tailored for each potential victim through a detailed needs based assessment. Specific care available to male potential victims includes: male-only accommodation; access to psychological support; access to legal advice and assistance; counselling, including trauma counselling where relevant; emergency medical treatment and assistance with male-related health issues; translation and interpretation services where appropriate; and transition support to either return home, or where they have leave to remain, to help settle in the UK.

Offences against Children: Databases

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether image data held by the Childbase database was transferred to the National Image Hashing Database; and whether international images of online child abuse identified by (a) the Internet Watch Foundation and (b) Interpol are placed on the National Image Hashing Database.

Mike Penning: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Travel Restrictions

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 7 July 2010 to Question 5608, on how many occasions visa bans have been used to prevent people from each country of origin considered to be involved in corruption from travelling to the UK in the period since that Answer was given.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Northern Ireland Office

War Memorials

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department is taking to support the future refurbishment of World War memorials in Northern Ireland.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is important that the sacrifice of those who gave their lives in the World Wars, and other conflicts, is never forgotten and that the memorials to their sacrifice are well maintained.The maintenance of local World War memorials is carried out by local authorities across the United Kingdom. Section 1 of the War Memorials (Local Authorities’ Powers) Act 1923 (which extends to Northern Ireland) provides for local authorities to incur reasonable expenditure in the maintenance, repair and protection of any war memorial within their district whether vested in them or not.On 1 July 2014, my Rt hon Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport announced details of a £5 million fund to conserve and protect war memorials. This funding will support a range of different projects including the provision of up to £3 million for the War Memorials Trust which works for the protection and conservation of war memorials within the United Kingdom to ensure they remain part of our communities forever.The funding to the War Memorials Trust over the four year period of the First World War Centenary will boost support for their grant schemes and expand their team of specialist Conservation Officers.

Department of Health

Food: Arsenic

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will introduce limits on the amount of trace arsenic permitted in foodstuffs intended for (a) children and (b) adults.

Jane Ellison: The setting of European Union maximum limits for inorganic arsenic in rice and rice products is currently under discussion. These limits will be directly applicable to all member states and are expected to come into force from mid-2015. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is working hard in Europe on behalf of the United Kingdom to ensure that the agreed limits are effective, proportionate and enforceable. The FSA supports more stringent limits for infants and young children to protect this vulnerable group.

Fracking

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what methods will be used to assess whether the levels of radon contained in shale gas gathered by hydraulic fracturing are safe enough to allow the shale gas to be burned on gas hobs in poorly ventilated kitchens.

Jane Ellison: The Public Health England review of the potential public health impacts of shale gas extraction considered the potential presence of radon in natural gas containing shale derived methane.   A number of techniques are available for measuring the concentration of radon in methane including scintillation counting of a methane gas sample.

Meat

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of meat (a) from the UK and (b) from outside the UK was (i) physically inspected and (ii) visually inspected in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for the delivery of official controls in approved meat establishments (slaughterhouses, cutting plants and game handling establishments) subject to veterinary control within the United Kingdom. This work is carried out for the FSA by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in Northern Ireland (NI) through a Service Level Agreement.   Official veterinarians, and meat hygiene inspectors working under the supervision of official veterinarians, are typically present during processing of animals presented for slaughter. They carry out a range of duties, including ante and post mortem checks (on live animals and carcases and offal) and checks on the health and welfare of animals presented for slaughter. These official control duties ensure that food business operators have produced meat in accordance with regulatory requirements, with a health mark applied to show that meat is safe to enter the food chain.   The following table states the number of individual species slaughtered within Great Britain (GB) in the last 10 years:2004-052005-062006-072007-082008-09Adult cattle1,838,8571,980,0872,199,0502,170,8662,118,769Pigs (all weights)7,928,0177,800,3637,982,2218,346,6037,902,093Sheep (all weights)15,161,40715,804,74815,085,86015,766,22715,631,217Poultry (all weights)786,584,808788,927,801778,255,925798,826,258778,470,948Game and rabbits <2kg1,852,1791,933,9272,525,5173,448,8103,504,225Goats (all weights)8,7297,1417,1158,9109,773Wild boar1,5991,4452,1212,0871,3292009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14Adult cattle2,067,3902,252,0702,279,9342,211,2162,131,839Pigs (all weights)7,714,0317,996,1018,461,7608,762,1858,651,444Sheep (all weights)14,371,45113,928,56314,006,06613,921,10813,887,013Poultry (all weights)800,679,007838,136,383851,540,495887,006,955889,505,745Game and rabbits <2kg3,321,4593,643,9983,902,3083,684,4204,066,114Goats (all weights)9,20011,60012,96415,00015,250Wild boar9818501,0561,3131,152   The following table states the number of individual species slaughtered within Northern Ireland (NI) in the last eight years, it was not possible to collate 10 years data.20062007200820092010Cattle435,275458,912428,875453,726473,885Sheep880,263823,155645,174582,299368,034Pigs1,194,7231,301,8801,293,3571,354,7671,564,659Poultry98,405,83899,147,33196,492,015102,076,083107,457,158Horses81022935Deer22771660153316231498201120122013Cattle451,727446,367109,521Sheep301,352423,89772,654Pigs1,599,0391,618,130400,980Poultry105,194,964104,884,08328,373,369Horses89997948Deer1044730170   The above tables provides throughput for major species in GB and NI – either by financial year (GB) or calendar year (NI). Note species included are different.   The FSA and DARD do not routinely record the inspection method of animals slaughtered.   Poultry carcases and their associated offal are “visual only” inspected. Since June 2014 carcases and offal of pigs of all ages may undergo visual inspection procedures however further inspection procedures (palpation and/or incision) can be carried out when there may be indications of a risk to public health, animal health or animal welfare. All other carcases still require physical inspection and incision of lymph nodes.   With regards to imports of meat, all consignments of meat from outside of the European Union (EU) are required to be presented at UK Border Inspection Posts to undergo mandatory official controls. This includes 100% documentary and visual identity checks on all consignments. In addition EU legislation requires each Border Inspection Post to physically sample 20% of consignments of meat passing through each BIP, which may include a laboratory test. The FSA does not hold data on the original method of inspection where meat originates from a third country, outside of the UK or EU. However, in order to access the EU market third countries must be approved by the EU Commission as having ‘equivalent’ methods of inspection and hygiene standards.   Meat produced in the UK and all other member states of the EU is required to be produced and processed in accordance with EU legislation including hygiene and Hazard Analysis at Critical Control Point plans. All plants within the UK are subject to regular audit and inspection by the FSA or DARD (in Northern Ireland) to ensure compliance with these requirements. There will be similar audit and inspection by Competent Authorities in other member states.

Caxton Foundation

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received from the Caxton Foundation about increases in funding to cover the costs of winter fuel payment in 2014.

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Caxton Foundation about the level of winter fuel payment in 2014.

Jane Ellison: The Department has not had any discussions with the Caxton Foundation in relation to winter payments in 2014-15, nor has it received any requests for increased funding in 2014-15 to cover the costs of winter payments.

Caxton Foundation

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many beneficiaries of the Caxton Foundation received winter fuel payments in each of the last three years; and how much was paid out in each of those years.

Jane Ellison: The following table sets out the number of winter payments, size of those payments, and total amounts paid out by the Caxton Foundation for the years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14.   YearAmount Paid per HouseholdNumber of PaymentsTotal Amount Paid  2013-14£500571£285,500 2012-13£500377£188,500 2011-121£50032£16,000  £25025£6,2501In 2011-12, two rates of winter payment were made, depending on household income. £500 was paid to those with household incomes below £14,000, and £250 was paid to those with household incomes above £14,000.

Rice: Arsenic

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment Public Health England has made of the hazards to young children of eating rice and rice products contaminated by natural inorganic arsenic.

Jane Ellison: In 2003 the Food Standards Agency (FSA) carried out a study to assess infants’ exposure to metals and other elements from weaning foods. The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, were reassured that arsenic intakes did not appear to have increased since the previous 1999 survey. They advised that exposure to inorganic arsenic from all sources should be as low as reasonably practicable.   In 2007 the FSA carried out a study to assess infants’ exposure to inorganic arsenic from weaning foods, including baby rice and rice cakes. The FSA concluded at that time that the measured levels did not change the 2003 advice.   In 2009 the FSA assessed the risk to toddlers and young children from consuming rice drinks, which are often referred to as ‘rice milk’. The FSA concluded that toddlers and young children should not be given rice drinks as a substitute for breast milk, infant formula or cows’ milk, on nutritional grounds and because this can increase intake of inorganic arsenic. This advice was communicated to health practitioners and is available on both the FSA website and NHS choices website.   In order to assess current United Kingdom exposure to inorganic arsenic in infants and young children, the FSA is carrying out a survey of inorganic arsenic and other contaminants in weaning foods and other foods that are commonly consumed by infants. This will look at exposure to inorganic arsenic from weaning foods such as baby rice and baby rice cakes, and exposure from rice and rice products that are not specifically intended for infants.   This study will be published in the New Year. The FSA will consider whether there is a need for further risk management action to be taken in the UK, to compliment the proposed European Union maximum limits for inorganic arsenic in rice.

NHS: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in ensuring that NHS England's definitions of commissioning responsibilities have been applied consistently across the country; and what assessment he has made of whether steps to ensure the consistency of such definitions will be complete by April 2015.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has advised that the guidance document ‘Who Pays? Determining responsibility for payments to providers’ defines which clinical commissioning group (CCG) is the responsible commissioner for an individual patient, or whether it is a CCG or NHS England.   In the case of any dispute regarding who should be the responsible commissioner, the Who Pays? guidance sets out that NHS England expects that all disputes will be resolved locally, ideally at CCG level, with reference to the guidance in the document and coming to pragmatic solutions where responsibility is not immediately obvious or where it may be shared. In cases that cannot be resolved at CCG level, area teams of NHS England should be consulted and arbitrate where necessary.   NHS England also produces the Manual for Prescribed Specialised Services. This is a technical document which describes commissioning responsibilities for prescribed specialised services. Some elements of these are to be directly commissioned by NHS England and some are to be commissioned by CCGs. It gives details of each service to be commissioned and a rationale as to why a service is to be commissioned by NHS England and not by CCGs.   NHS England has undertaken an internal audit to ensure consistency of application against the Manual for Prescribed Specialised Services. An action plan is in place to resolve issues identified through the audit relating to the application of the Manual for Prescribed Specialised Services and subsequent contracting tools.   A copy of the ‘Who Pays?’ document and a copy of the Manual for Prescribed Specialised Services 2013/14 are attached.   



Guidance Document- "Who Pays?"
(PDF Document, 324.88 KB)




Manual for Prescribed Specialised Services 2013-14
(PDF Document, 1.55 MB)

Medical Equipment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the criteria of assessment for awarding dispensing appliance contractor licences.

George Freeman: There are no licensing requirements to open a private dispensing appliance contractor business. NHS England is responsible for determining whether a dispensing appliance contractor should be granted the right to provide National Health Service pharmaceutical services. Such determinations can generally be appealed to the Family Health Services Appeal Unit of the NHS Litigation Authority.   The Department keeps the operation of the relevant NHS regulations governing the right to provide NHS pharmaceutical services under regular review with NHS England, the NHS Litigation Authority and contractors’ representatives as appropriate.

Influenza: Vaccination

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what targets he has set for providing influenza jabs for (a) medical and health care workers and (b) social care workers this winter; and what progress has been made against such targets to date.

Jane Ellison: The Flu Plan: Winter 2014-15 sets out an ambition to reach a minimum of 75% uptake of the flu vaccine for health and social care workers, including medical staff. A copy of the Flu Plan is attached.   Data on uptake rates for frontline healthcare workers, including some social care staff, are collected by Public Health England on a monthly basis. The first data for this current season, covering the period 1 September-31 October 2014, will be published on 20 November. Data are not collected separately on vaccine uptake levels for social care workers.   



Flu Plan: Winter 2014/15
(PDF Document, 379.58 KB)

Prescriptions

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken at regional and local level to reduce prescribing errors.

George Freeman: NHS England is involved in a range of initiatives to improve all aspects of medication safety, including prescribing error. These include setting up a network of dedicated Medication Safety Officers (MSOs) in organisations providing National Health Service-funded care. Over 345 MSOs are now in place and have responsibility for medication safety reporting and learning from errors, including prescription errors.   NHS England and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued a Patient Safety Alert Improving medication error incident reporting and learning in March 2014, and potential Patient Safety Alerts are under development that will aim to improve the safe prescribing of glucose test strips, naloxone and low molecular weight heparin.   NHS England has commissioned the development of a new Medication Safety Thermometer, which is a ‘point prevalence’ survey tool available for providers to help them measure the prevalence of certain medication incidents in their care and so facilitate quality improvement projects to tackle leading causes of harm. Details of the Medication Safety Thermometer are available at:   http://www.safetythermometer.nhs.uk/   NHS England is also involved in an initiative led by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to develop interventions to reduce prescribing errors, as part of their Paediatric Care Online programme.

Cholesterol

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England will take up responsibility for the commissioning of specialised services for the treatment and care of people with Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) once the definitions have been standardised; what steps he is taking to improve care and treatment for people in England with HoFH; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: We understand that NHS England will take responsibility for the commissioning of services for homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia patients from 1 April 2015. The national commissioning of this service will clearly define what NHS England expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. This should ensure equity of access to a nationally consistent, high quality service for patients.

Kidneys: Transplant Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the provision in NHS hospitals of kidney transplantation through keyhole surgery.

Jane Ellison: The removal of a kidney for donation from a living donor is routinely carried out using minimally invasive surgical techniques. In most transplant centres, these are keyhole (laparoscopic) techniques.   The use of keyhole surgery in the implantation of a kidney will be a clinical decision made in the best interests of the patient based on individual circumstances.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government about measures to implement a public health approach to musculo-skeletal health.

Jane Ellison: In supporting a public health approach to musculo-skeletal (MSK) health, the key measures discussed with local government and the Department for Communities and Local Government are those within the Public Health Outcomes Framework. The key relevant measures are:   - Physical Activity measures, which come from the Active People Survey - Obesity; Excess weight in children (4-5s and 10-11s) and excess weight in adults - Smoking prevalence - Alcohol - Hip Fractures (65-79s and 80+) - Sickness absence   Public Health England (PHE) has limited data on the prevalence of MSK diseases in England although Arthritis Research UK (AR-UK) prevalence calculator will provide estimates of the prevalence of the commonest groupings of MSK disease when it is launched and available for local authority (LA) use.   PHE has contributed to LA based briefings which AR-UK has produced.

Hepatitis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the implementation framework for hepatitis C being developed by Public Health England, NHS England, the Department of Health and voluntary bodies will be published.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England, the Department of Health and NHS England are committed to reducing the burden of disease from hepatitis C through a suite of activities to improve awareness, prevention, testing and diagnosis, referral into care, and treatment outcomes.   A key element of this work is the development of an improvement framework for hepatitis C, which we hope to publish in early 2015.

Surrogate Motherhood

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consideration his Department has given to introducing child protection checks for parents commissioning surrogacy from abroad before being permitted to do so.

Jane Ellison: The Department is aware that surrogacy is an evolving area in terms of court judgments, societal attitudes and demands and policy approach, and is giving consideration to a range of surrogacy-related issues. The feasibility of safeguarding checks is being considered as part of on-going discussions within a cross-Departmental working group on international surrogacy.

Blood: Contamination

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications to register with (a) the Skipton Fund Ltd and (b) MEFT Ltd have been refused on the grounds of incomplete hospital records since the inception of each such companies.

Jane Ellison: These data are not held centrally. The Skipton Fund has advised us that excluding people who clear the hepatitis C virus naturally within six months, a total of 508 claims have been rejected. The majority of these claims were rejected on the grounds of incomplete hospital records. This includes both claims made by living individuals and claims made in respect of people who have died. No claims for MFET Ltd have been rejected on the grounds of incomplete medical records.

Genetic Engineering

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on measures to alter the genes of babies; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: There are no plans or policy on measures to alter the genes of babies.

Pneumococcal Disease: Vaccination

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 54 of the minutes of the meeting of 4 June 2014 of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, over what period of time Public Health England intends to revise the cost effectiveness model of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine to include the latest epidemiological data on pneumococcal disease in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) will review modelling undertaken on the impact and cost-effectiveness of the Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPV) programme in over-65 year olds using the latest epidemiological data on invasive pneumococcal disease in the United Kingdom. PHE will report its findings to the Pneumococcal Sub-committee of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). It is anticipated that the Pneumococcal Sub-committee will meet for the first time in spring 2015.   At this meeting of the Pneumococcal Sub-committee members will review information including epidemiological data and PHE’s report on PPV impact and cost-effectiveness. Should all the required data be available to the Sub-committee, and subject to the requirement for additional meetings and, if required, additional modelling, it is anticipated that it will report to the JCVI main committee. The JCVI will form advice at the October 2015 meeting. The minutes of this meeting will be published in winter 2015.

Pregnancy: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when a module on perinatal mental health will be included in all new midwives' training.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to work with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), to ensure that midwives in training have a core training module focussing on perinatal mental health with the intention that this will be in place for those entering midwifery training in 2015. In addition, by March 2015, HEE working with the RCM will develop a continuing professional education framework for the existing maternity and early years workforce so that all healthcare professionals who come into contact with women using maternity and post natal services have access to training to optimise the care and treatment of women with perinatal mental health illness.

Pregnancy: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Government plans to start collecting data on the number of women admitted to perinatal inpatient mother and baby units.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Data on perinatal mental health admissions is provided by the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). HES is a data warehouse containing details of all admissions, outpatient appointments and accident and emergency attendances at National Health Service hospitals in England, and is published by the Health & Social Care Information Centre. HES does not identify specific units or types of unit, and as such will not be able to provide data on admissions to mother and baby units. The lowest level of data aggregation collected by HES is at provider site of treatment, i.e. the hospital.

Pneumococcal Disease: Vaccination

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 49 of the minutes of the meeting of 4 June 2014 of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), when his Department indicated to the JCVI that it would like the JCVI to confirm or revise its conclusions regarding the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine of choice for the UK; how his Department indicated its wish to the JCVI; whether he is satisfied that the JCVI has complied with his Department's request; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The request from the Department to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) regarding the use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in the United Kingdom was conveyed by Departmental officials via the JCVI secretariat within Public Health England in early 2014.   At its meeting on 4 June 2014, the minutes of which are available on GOV.UK, the JCVI concluded that PCV13 should remain the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine of choice for the United Kingdom at this time. We have accepted this advice.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

UK Trade and Investment

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many UK Trade and Investment staff worked in each of the industrial sectors on 1 April 2014; and what the budget for each such sector is in 2014-15.

Matthew Hancock: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) works in line with the Government’s Industrial Strategy. The whole UKTI network works predominantly in these priority sectors to support UK exporters and attract foreign direct investment to the UK. The table below shows the number of civil service staff working in our core sector teams in our HQ, and the budget allocated to each team[1].  StaffBudget, £mAdvanced Manufacturing61.3UKTI Agri-Tech Organisation31.3UKTI Automotive Investment Organisation22.0Construction10.51.5Consumer & Retail92.3Creative Industries & Global Sports122.7UKTI Education101.1Energy202.6UKTI Financial Services Organisation62.0Healthcare UK81.6Information Economy113.0Innovation Gateway21.7UKTI Life Science Organisation62.6UKTI Offshore Wind Investment Organisation11.1UKTI DSO12810.5[1] This core resource is supplemented by specialist contractors, sector teams in our global network, and our trade advisors in the English regions. The core budget is supplemented by funding for cross-cutting activity including trade fairs and missions, marketing, and the services provided by our 430 Trade Advisors in the English regions to help UK companies export to new markets.It should be noted that UKTI DSO operates as a separate unit, whereas the other UKTI sector teams utilise more shared resource in addition to the numbers tabled below.

New Businesses: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many start-up loans have been granted in Brigg and Goole constituency  since that scheme's inception; and how much has been granted through such loans.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 03 November 2014



In total more than 21,000 Start Up Loans have been issued to budding entrepreneurs across the country since the scheme launched in June 2012. 23 loans have been issued in Brigg and Goole with a value of £117,800.

Timber: Imports

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what tonnage of imports of wood pellets there has been into the UK in the last three years.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 05 November 2014



  Data on the net mass of imports of wood pellets are published by HMRC in Overseas Trade Statistics. Data for the years 2011 to 2013 are shown in the following tables. Due to routine updating of the commodity codes by Eurostat, wood pellets were coded as ‘44013020 - Sawdust and wood waste and scrap, agglomerated in pellets’ in 2011 but then classified to the new code ‘44013100 – wood pellets’ in 2012 and 2013. For this analysis we have combined these two headings to provide a consistent series. The values below are provided in metric tonnes, each equivalent to 1,000 kg.   Net mass of wood pellet imports to the UK (metric tonnes)  201120122013  1,015,1021,486,8993,432,187 Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics Note: wood pellets were classified as 'HS 44013020 - Sawdust and wood waste and scrap, agglomerated in pellets' in 2011 and as 'HS 44013100 - Wood pellets' in 2012 and 2013

Business: Billing

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that signatories of the Prompt Payment Code adhere to its regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: Under the current arrangements of the Prompt Payment Code, suppliers have the ability to challenge signatories via the Prompt Payment Code website.   In recognition that more needs to be done to strengthen the Code, the Government launched the business-led Prompt Payment Code Advisory Board in October 2014. Its remit covers strengthening the monitoring and enforcement of the Code.   The Government and the ICM now plan to develop proposals to ensure that signatories better adhere to the Prompt Payment Code’s principles in the coming months.

Biotechnology

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what comparative assessment he has made of the competitiveness of the (a) UK, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) China and (e) US life science industry.

George Freeman: The UK pharmaceutical sector contributes more than £13 billion to UK Gross Value Added (GVA), making it the second largest in Europe after Germany measured by GVA. The life sciences sector employs 173,900 people in the UK, and the UK is second only to the US measured by the share of top 1% citations in life science related subjects. The Office of Life Sciences is currently developing a set of indicators reflecting the broad competitiveness of the UK life science environment against key international comparators. More broadly, the most recent Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) overall ranks the UK within the top 10 competitive countries in which to conduct business, continuing its historical strong performance. The UK is well regarded for its high quality science and research base, high-level skills, openness to international trade and effectiveness of its regulatory and competition regimes and flexible labour market. As a result the UK overall remains a magnet for inward investment, second only to the USA.

Biotechnology

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what structures his Department has in place to ensure that (a) the Life Sciences Organisation and (b) the Office for Life Sciences co-ordinate with the MHRA and National Institute of Health and Care Excellence.

George Freeman: Since April 2014 the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) has operated as a joint Director-led unit between the Department of Business Innovation and Skills and the Department of Health. The previous good working relationships between the OLS and MHRA and NICE have been strengthened through this move, as all these bodies are now either part of or sponsored by the Department of Health and all three fall within my Ministerial portfolio. The UKTI Life Sciences Organisation (LSO) also has strong working relationships with MHRA and NICE, both directly and through the OLS, largely operating on an informal basis rather than within particular structures.

Business: Fareham

Mr Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to increase the level of access to credit to businesses in Fareham constituency in the last 12 months.

Matthew Hancock: The British Business Bank has brought together the management of all the Government lending and investment programmes into a single, commercially minded institution which makes finance markets work better for small firms, allowing them to prosper, grow and support the UK economy.   Between October 1st 2013 and September 30th 2014, six businesses in the Fareham constituency obtained loans which were supported by our Enterprise Finance Guarantee programme. The total value of these loans was £780,000.   In the same period the Bank’s Start Up Loan programme provided loans to 13 entrepreneurs in the constituency with a total value of £56,050.

Training

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to offer training to adults without GCSEs.

Nick Boles: The Government supports a range of training opportunities for adults who are not qualified to GCSE level. We provide full funding for adults of any age, irrespective of employment status, to study English and Maths up to and including Level 2 qualifications and to take GCSEs in these subjects. We also fully fund adults aged 19 to 23 to study for their first full Level 2 or learning programmes pre-Level 2 to enable them to progress to Level 2 and above. These can cover a wide range of subjects, from vocational courses to GCSEs. In 2012/13 we supported 1.2m learners at level 2. For adults aged 24 who want to study subjects other than English and maths, we provide a subsidy and they make a contribution from their own resources. The Government supports some particular programmes operating partly or exclusively for adults who have not yet achieved GCSE. Traineeships provide work preparation training, English and Maths for those who need it, and vital work experience - combining to equip people with the skills and experience they need to compete for Apprenticeships and other jobs. Apprenticeships are real jobs with training and provide an opportunity for people, including those without GCSEs, to obtain high quality training in a particular career. Sector-based work academies combine sector-based training with a work experience placement lasting up to a maximum of 6 weeks along with a guaranteed job interview. They are designed to support benefit customers aged 18+ who are close to the labour market but have been unable to find sustained employment in a demand sector. In addition, individuals who are out of work and in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), Employment Support Allowance in the Work Related Activity Group (ESA WRAG) or on Universal Credit (UC) with a skills need identified, are able to receive free training from Colleges and providers to help them get into work. Of all aims started by benefit claimants 89 per cent were at Level 2 and below. We support Adult Community Learning with funding of £210m which is designed to engage people who are most disadvantaged and furthest from learning such as those who do not yet have the confidence to go to a formal course. It has proven to be particularly effective in motivating people without qualifications. Some of those studying below GCSE have learning difficulties and disabilities and where it is needed, we fund the delivery of additional support for these learners so that they can participate fully in education and training. Working in close partnership with the Ministry of Justice, our prison education offer similarly provides offenders with the basic skills of maths and English, and with relevant vocational qualifications, that will allow them to secure employment on release. We know that employment reduces re-offending.

Apprentices

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on allowing employers to pay the apprenticeship wage for longer than 12 months.

Nick Boles: The apprenticeship minimum wage applies to apprentices aged under 19 and those aged 19 and over in the first year of their apprenticeship. If the apprentice is over 19 and has completed the first year of their apprenticeship, they are entitled to the age appropriate rate of the national minimum wage. The apprenticeship minimum wage is the legal minimum. It is not a guide as to what employers should pay and we encourage employers to pay higher where they are able to do so. Most employers pay more than the minimum wage.

Service Industries

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department plans to take to support further growth in the services sector; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that EU regulations do not negatively affect support to businesses in that sector.

Matthew Hancock: The UK is the second largest exporter of services globally, with services exports valued at £193bn in 2012, accounting for 40% of overall UK exports. The Government is taking steps to strengthen exports of the service sector through: trade negotiations; UK Trade and Investment business support for service exporters; and through the current Industrial Strategy, incorporating eleven sector strategies, including for the highly regarded Professional and Business Services sector. The UK Government is a strong supporter of the Trade in Services Agreement negotiation which could be worth £2-3bn to the UK as the EU’s most externally competitive services economy. The UK is also working closely with other EU countries to ensure that the new European Commission prioritises deepening of the single market in services through the removal of remaining barriers to trade. We will also work closely with the new Commission and other institutions to emphasise the priority the UK attaches to the reduction of unnecessary EU burdens on business across a range of sectors, to support growth and job creation.

Apprentices

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices have been employed through the employer ownership pilot for apprenticeships; and how much of the £340 million allocated to this pilot has been spent.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 10 November 2014



Provisional data* from the October 2014 Statistical First Release, shows that for the programme to date (August 2012 to July 2014) there were 4,300 apprenticeship starts associated with the Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP). There were also 32,700 non apprenticeship starts associated with the EOP. To date, £52.9m of EOP funding has been drawn down by beneficiaries. The balance of funding is expected to be drawn down over the period to financial year 16/17. * Provisional data are subject to change. Final data for the 2013/14 academic year will be published on 26 November 2014.

Skilled Workers: Bristol

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to support the retention of skills and jobs in the Bristol region.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 10 November 2014



Through the West of England Growth Deal, the Government is investing over £212 million in the region to create and safeguard up to 5,000 jobs, and generate up to £180 million in public and private investment. Investment will also be focused on ensuring the West of England has the right skills within the workforce and key sectors such as: aerospace and advanced manufacturing; creative and digital media; and high-tech industries.   This Growth Deal builds on the significant investment the Government has already made in the Bristol region through: the Bristol City Deal; Regional Growth Fund; and Growing Places Fund. Moving forward, the Government, the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, business and local councils will continue to work together to support economic growth, attract inward investment, and ensure the skills needs of the local area are met .   A task force based on the Skills and Jobs Retention Group, including local and national Government, local partners, Rolls Royce, the supply chain and others will be established to ensure we do all we can. The Group has a successful track record at redeploying engineering talent with other, growing businesses, most recently working with BAe. Contact has already been made with Rolls Royce to discuss how this can best operate alongside the support that the company itself will offer.

Companies: Ownership

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress he has made in establishing full public transparency of company ownership.

Jo Swinson: The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill makes provision for the introduction of a central, public register of people with significant control over UK companies. The register will ensure full public transparency of UK company ownership and control. We will implement the register through secondary legislation as soon as practicable following Royal Assent of the Bill, which is subject to the will of Parliament.

Business: Regulation

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many new statutory regulations on business have been introduced since May 2010; and how many regulations on businesses have been repealed in that time.

Matthew Hancock: Since this Government came into office we have reduced the stock of existing regulation through the Red Tape Challenge programme and controlled the flow of regulation through the One-in, One-out and One-in, Two-out rules. Any Department wishing to introduce new regulations which impose a cost on business can only do so if they make a reduction in cost through the removal of regulations with equivalent costs from elsewhere. From January 2013 the Government increased its deregulatory ambition by introducing the One-In, Two-Out rule, under which Departments must find two pounds of saving for every pound of extra cost imposed.   The achievements of these two programmes will be set out in the Ninth Statement of New Regulation, to be published in December 2014. At the time of publishing the Eighth Statement in July 2014, there had been 72 regulatory ‘INs’ and 152 deregulatory ‘OUTs’ since January 2011, as well as 126 measures with zero net cost to business. As a result, this Government has so far reduced the annual cost to business of domestic regulation by over £1.5 billion since January 2011.

Buildings

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many buildings owned by his Department have been sold in each year since 2010.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS Core) have not sold any buildings between 2010 and 2014. BIS Core do not own any freehold property to sell.

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2014 to Question 212650, what resource he has made available to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) in each of the last three years; and what resources he is making available to the EAS in 2014-15.

Jo Swinson: The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) enforce the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (both as amended).   In the financial year 2012-13 the EAS budget was £526,068 and on 1 April 2012 the number of inspectors in post was 16.   In the financial year 2013-2014 the EAS budget was £532,032 and on 1 April 2013 the number of staff in post was 12.   For the financial year 2014 – 2015 the EAS budget is held at a higher level of aggregation and managed across a number of different programmes, so we are unable to provide a figure for that financial year. Two full-time inspectors currently work in the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) and are based at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) premises at 1 Victoria street, London. They are supported by one administrative officer.   In November 2013, as part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to review regularly the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), we announced a more targeted enforcement strategy for the recruitment sector, focusing on protecting the most vulnerable, low paid workers.   As part of that strategy, resources from the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) moved to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)’ NMW team.   They formed a new HMRC team which focusses on enforcing non-payment of NMW in the recruitment sector. By increasing HMRC’s NMW team, Government continues to protect the most vulnerable workers and ensures a level playing field is maintained for the vast majority of agencies who play by the rules.   Frontline staff in the inspectorate are supported with other BIS resources. In cases where there is prolonged and wilful non-compliance with the recruitment sector legislation, EAS can consider prosecution in the magistrates court or the Crown court. In such cases EAS inspectors are supported by the Department's legal team.   The level of support provided is dependent on the complexity of the case. EAS can also work with the Department's legal team and the Treasury Solicitor's Department to take action to prohibit an individual from running an employment agency for up to 10 years. Again the resource given to support EAS is dependent on the case.   Staffing levels are kept under constant review and the budget allocation for next financial year has yet to be determined.

Ministry of Defence

Navy: Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contracts the Maritime Support and Delivery Framework replaces; who previously held those contracts; and how much was spent in each such contract in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: Holding answer received on 20 October 2014



The Maritime Support Delivery Framework (MSDF) contracts replace the three Warship Support Maintenance Initiative (WSMI) contracts with Babcock Marine and BAE Systems covering HM Naval Bases (HMNBs) Clyde, Devonport and Portsmouth. Under WSMI, industry was contracted to provide engineering support to Royal Navy ships and submarines, waterfront support services, logistics management, along with estates and facilities management and maintenance. The MSDF contracts also replace ship services contracts with Babcock Marine and BAE Systems and contracts for a range of other support activities. The expenditure incurred by the Ministry of Defence in each of the last five years (in £ million) is shown in the tables. The tables include only those contracts that are within the current scope of the MSDF contract. Table 1 – Expenditure on Contracts Replaced by the MSDF contract awarded to BAE Systems (figures are rounded to the nearest £ million). FINANCIAL YEARS (£ million)2009-10 2010-112011-122012-132013-14TotalWSMI Contract – HMNB Portsmouth9699102108113517Ship Services Contract11384154Design Management Services2210See Note 10See Note 15Contracts for Ship Refits and Upkeeps3620623691Enabling contract for Works Projects at HMNB Portsmouth43451026Enabling contract for Enhancement and Urgent Operational work on HM Ships at HMNB Portsmouth3433317   Table 2 - Expenditure on Contracts Replaced by the MSDF contract awarded to Babcock Marine (figures are rounded to the nearest £ million). FINANCIAL YEARS (£ million)2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14TotalWSMI Contract – HMNB Clyde9588100100115498WSMI Contract – HMNB Devonport135141157164189786Ship Services Contract0See Note 1133883126Design Management Services2210See Note 10See Note 15Ship Refits and Upkeeps227834402176Fixed Cost Element of Contracts for Long Overhaul Periods (Refuelling) for HM Submarines Vengeance and Vigilant  689071229 Notes: 1. Expenditure was incurred in the financial year but as it was below £0.5 million, it appears in the table as a zero when the rounding policy is applied.

Engineers: Recruitment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many engineers have been recruited by his Department in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 30 October 2014



The Department uses different management information systems to record its recruitment of civilians and Service personnel. The requested information has, therefore, been provided in two separate tables attached.  



MOD Civillian and Service Personnel Engineers
(Word Document, 48 KB)

Armed Forces: Drugs

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the Royal Navy were dismissed for drug-related offences in the last three years; and how many such dismissals were for possession or use of cannabis.

Anna Soubry: The information requested in respect of the Naval Service is provided in the table: YearNumber of personnel dismissed for drug-related offencesNumber of personnel dismissed for the possession or use of cannabis2012102013002014 (to 3 November)20 The information has been compiled using the date of conviction, not the date of offence. It does not include administrative discharges and therefore compulsory drug test failures are not included.

Mobile Phones

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on iPhones in each year since 2010.

Mr Philip Dunne: The majority of mobile telephones supplied to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) are provided by Vodafone through an enabling arrangement through the Defence Fixed Telecommunications Service (DFTS) contract with BT. A very small number (less than 1%) of mobile telephones are procured outside this arrangement to meet local operational demands, typically at MOD establishments overseas. Until July 2014, the procurement of iPhones required purchase authorisation outside the scope of the DFTS catalogue but, since then, iPhones have been ordered by routine processes via the DFTS catalogue. Monthly network access charges for iPhones are greater than basic mobile telephones. Expenditure on iPhone accounts via the DFTS contract is in the attached table. It should be noted that iPhones purchased prior to Jan 2010 continue to incur network access charges in the reporting period. The current cost differential is £5 for a basic mobile phone per month and £11.23 for an iPhone. The annual expenditure on iPhone purchases and network acccess charges via the DFTS contract since January 2010 to October 2014 are shown in the attached table:  



213153 - MOD Expenditure on iPhones
(Word Document, 25.5 KB)

NATO

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps have been taken to enhance cyber-defence policy across all NATO member states since the NATO summit.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Enhanced NATO Policy on cyber defence, agreed at the Wales Summit, contains a number of elements to protect NATO's own networks and assist Allies in discharging their responsibility to protect national networks. One such, proposed by the UK, was delivered in October in Mons through the launch of the NATO Industry Cyber Partnership (NICP). This will help to strengthen NATO cooperation with industry on cyber defence.

Libya

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent support and advice on defence and security institution building has his Department given to the Libyan government (a) bilaterally and (b) with international partners.

Mr Philip Dunne: In the period until July of this year, the Ministry of Defence's Defence Advisory and Training Team (DATT) based in Tripoli provided support for the defence and security aspects of the UK's £62.5 million Security, Justice and Defence programme. The DATT provided specialist advice on Defence Reform, Disarmament, and Border Security, working with the Libyan Land forces, Navy, Air Force, Border Security Force and Training Directorates. DATT support included programmes on strategic communication, developing explosive ordnance disposal schools, creation of a joint operational planning capability, and naval training. In the UK, eight Libyan Navy officers completed a Maritime Communications Course at the Maritime Warfare School in July 2014. In early August we withdrew the DATT following the deterioration in the security situation in Tripoli. We are closely monitoring the situation and remain committed to providing support to the Libyan Government and to the efforts of the UK and US political envoys to bring about a political settlement.

Sahel

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Sahel region on (a) terrorism, (b) arms, drugs and people trafficking and (c) other key challenges.

Mr Philip Dunne: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has not had any recent discussions with Defence ministers in the Sahel region; however, he has discussed security issues in the Sahel with international partners most recently with the French Minister of Defence.

Libya

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent representations he has received on the movement of illegal arms in and out of Libya.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has regular discussions with international partners and Other Government Departments to address the security situation in Libya and the region, including the issue of unsecured arms and ammunition. Instability in Libya is exacerbated by the scale of the now largely unsecured arms and ammunition amassed earlier by the Ghadaffi regime and the porosity of Libya's borders. Illegal flows of arms and ammunition, extremism and the growing terrorist threat from Libya affect the whole region and are significant issues of concern for the international community.

Falkland Islands

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of potential implications for his policy on the defence of the Falkland Islands of the sale of Gripen fighters to Argentina; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence undertakes regular assessments of potential military threats to the Falkland Islands to ensure that we retain an appropriate level of defensive capability to address any such threats. We remain vigilant and committed to the protection of the Falkland Islanders. It would be inappropriate for the UK Government to comment on the commercial activities of other Governments.

Libya

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the threat posed to the UK by extremist training camps in southern Libya.

Mr Philip Dunne: We keep the security situation in southern Libya under close review. We assess that a number of extremist groups consider that region to be an increasingly permissive environment. We continue to work closely with other Government Departments and agencies, particularly JTAC (the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre), to monitor, and consider how best to deal with, potential threats to the UK and UK interests.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the policy is of the Army Foundation College, Harrogate on providing a discharge form to any trainee soldier aged under 18 who asks to leave the army; and if he will place in the Library a copy of that policy.

Mr Philip Dunne: A trainee soldier under the age of 18 wishing to exercise their statutory right to discharge from Army Foundation College Harrogate does so in accordance with standard procedures.Once a recruit has expressed such an intent to their Platoon Commander, they complete, with appropriate guidance, an Application for Premature Voluntary Release Form, supported by a letter. They are interviewed by their Platoon and Company Commanders, with confirmation that their parent or guardian has been informed of the pending discharge and is content to take over responsibility for the individual. The recruit is given a one-day Career Guidance Workshop, where a team of qualified guidance counsellors help early leavers decide on their next steps.The recruit receives an Early Service Leaver Resettlement Brief and has a final interview with the Commanding Officer before the administrative process is finalised and completed.I am attaching a copy of the Flow Diagram which shows the steps taken during this process, together with Army Form B 132A, Application For Premature Voluntary Release.



213315 - Flow Diagram Early Service Leaver
(Word Document, 67 KB)




213315 - Army Form B 132A
(PDF Document, 599.89 KB)

Defence: Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of expenditure on defence procurement contracts was placed with small and medium-sized enterprises based in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK in the last two years for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has published details of expenditure with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-contracting-with-smes-financial-year-20132014.The MOD no longer conducts a full analysis of expenditure by geographic location of the UK.

Libya

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the first Libyan armed forces personnel began their basic infantry training at Bassingbourn Barracks; what facilities Libyan armed forces personnel have visited in the UK as part of their training; how many such soldiers have completed the training; and how many soldiers are to be so trained in total.

Mr Philip Dunne: Training of the Libyan General Purpose Force commenced at Bassingbourn Barracks on 11 June 2014. As part of their training programme, they visited the following facilities: Stanford Training Area, Salisbury Plain Training Area, Longmoor Training Area, Lydd Ranges, Sennybridge Training Area, Barton Road Ranges,and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The training programme has now been concluded; 228 Libyans completed it.

Libya

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has had with authorities and bodies from (a) the Libyan government, (b) other departments, (c) the police, (d) local authorities and (e) other relevant bodies on the training of Libyan service personnel in UK military facilities.

Mr Philip Dunne: Ministry of Defence planning for General Purpose training in the UK was conducted in consultation with the Cabinet Office, Home Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Libyan Defence Section of the Libyan Embassy in London, local community leaders in Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire Police and the Ministry of Defence Police. In Libya, the MOD liaised with the Libyan Government through the FCO, the UK Defence Attache and the Defence Advisory and Training Team in Tripoli. The MOD has also worked closely with international partners including the United States and Italy, and also military representatives from Libya, to develop a common set of standards for General Purpose Force training.

Libya

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Libyan service personnel have received military training in the UK since June 2014.

Mr Philip Dunne: Since June 2014 the Ministry of Defence has provided Defence Education and pre-course English Language training to twenty Libyan service personnel at Britannia Royal Naval College, RAF College Cranwell, the Defence Cultural and Language Centre, the Royal College of Defence Studies and HMS Collingwood. On 11 June, 328 Libyan Armed Forces troops began a training course in basic infantry and junior command skills, based at Bassingbourn Camp, Cambridgeshire. That training has now been concluded.

Defence: Procurement

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of hiring external consultants to aid with defence procurement in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne: Ministry of Defence (MOD) expenditure on external consultancy is published as part of Defence Departmental Resources statistics. Details of expenditure by category for each year up to 2012-13 is included in Table 1.03.09 'MOD Expenditure on External Assistance': https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/defence-departmental-resources-2013.The total figure is also published in the MOD Annual Report and Accounts (Table 7.1): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-annual-report-and-accounts-201213.Details of expenditure for 2013-14 will be published in accordance with statutory obligations.

Defence: Procurement

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many external consultants are involved in defence procurement.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold details of the number of consultants employed on defence procurement activities. This is because the MOD negotiates contracts with consultancy companies to deliver a specific output at an agreed price; the number of consultants to be employed is not specified, since this is a matter for the contractor.

Libya

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when future tranches of Libyan service personnel planned to come to the UK to receive military training are scheduled to arrive; for how long such training programmes will last; and how many such people have received criminal convictions in Libya.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the review being conducted by his Department into the training of Libyan security forces in the UK will conclude; and if he will ensure that his Department publishes the central conclusions of this review.

Mr Philip Dunne: Further to what the Prime Minister has said, the Ministry of Defence is reviewing all aspects of the training programme at Bassingbourn including disciplinary issues. This will inform National Security Council decisions about future training programmes for the Libyan security forces. The UK remains committed to supporting the Libyan government as it works to establish stability and security across the country but has no immediate plans for further trainees to travel to the UK. The immediate priority must be agreement to a political settlement and the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to Libya, Jonathan Powell, is playing an active role in support of that process.

Libya

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions Libyan service personnel training in the UK have broken local protocol and guidelines whilst training at the Bassingbourn Base; and what internal disciplinary procedures followed each such breach.

Mr Philip Dunne: Under the terms of the Technical Arrangement signed between the Libyan Government and the UK for the Training Programme, Libyan personel were subjected to UK jurisdiction. At the start of their training in the UK the terms and standards of conduct under which the Libyans were to adhere to while undergoing training were clearly set out. These terms and rules of conduct were jointly agreed in consultation with the Home Office. Where there have been breaches of the terms of the Technical Arrangement or acceptable standards of conduct these have been dealt with, if necessary by the Police and the Home Office. Sanctions have included the removal of individuals from training and the UK through to increased security and restrictions on freedoms and privileges including leaving Bassingbourn Barracks. UK Trainers closely supported the Libyan National Support Element who were responsible for ensuring discipline was maintained amongst the Libyan trainees.

Armed Forces: Training

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what screening procedures his Department undertakes in order to assess the suitability of any foreign military personnel to receive service training in the UK.

Mr Philip Dunne: All UK Military and Defence Educational courses specify pre-course joining standards, including English Language ability, military and academic qualifications and medical and physical fitness. In addition, sending Countries are required to certify their students' suitability, security clearance and qualifications. All foreign military students are also required to comply with Home Office immigration and visa requirements

Army Reserve

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to protect members of the Territorial Army from workplace discrimination.

Anna Soubry: An 'anti-disadvantage' survey was launched on 3 July 2013 to gather any evidence of disadvantage against which the Government might be able to legislate, in order to protect Reservists. A very small number of cases were reported. Where requested, engagement with these employers took place to rectify the particular issues identified. However, the survey did not generate sufficient data to determine the scale of disadvantage so a new question will be included in the next annual Reserves Continuous Attitude Survey and, if necessary, additional measures to protect members of the Reserves from discrimination will be considered.Specific employment protection for Reservists has been included in the Defence Reform Act 2014, which commenced on 1 October this year. Reservists now have immediate access to an Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal without the usual two year qualifying period of service if they believe the primary reason for their dismissal is because they are a Reservist. This is an important step in minimising any disadvantage arising from Reserve service.The Ministry of Defence has also actively engaged with employers to impart the benefits of employing Reservists and to mitigate any impact on the employer. These include advance notice of training programmes for the coming year and the provision of a local point of contact. It is hoped that better and earlier engagement will avert any issues that could lead to Reservists being disadvantaged.

Hebrides Missile Range

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which (a) NATO and (b) non-NATO countries have used assets at Hebrides Range in the last 10 years.

Mr Philip Dunne: Four NATO countries have used assets at the Hebrides Range in the past 10 years: UK, Denmark, Germany and Belgium. Switzerland is the only non-NATO country to have used assets at the Hebrides Range in this time.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Written Questions: Government Responses

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to answer Question 207630, tabled on 1 September 2014 by the right hon. Member for Leeds Central.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to answer Question 207599, tabled on 1 September 2014 by the right hon. Member for Leeds Central.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 24 October 2014



Questions 207630 and 207599 were answered on 30 October.

Business: Loans

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on each of the six actions outlined in his Department's report, Ethnic Minority Businesses and Access to Finance, published in June 2013; what external meetings Ministers have had to discuss (a) those actions and (b) the issues raised in the report in each month since the report; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Williams: Holding answer received on 30 October 2014



The Ethnic Minority Business and Access to Finance review has raised awareness and encouraged engagement between the banking community and ethnic minority businesses. The report was published in July 2013 with a plan for action. The actions were addressed primarily at the industry, British Bankers' Association and others including Local Enterprise Partnerships, supported by Government. Progress against the actions is set out below. Action 1: Spreading the WordThe banking community continues to work with accountants, business groups and specialist business networks through the Enterprise Diversity Alliance and other forums such as the National Black Women's Network and the Yorkshire Asian Business Association, to raise awareness of the range of support available. This has included developing finance guides, refreshing the Better Business Finance website to make it more friendly, and running a national campaign aimed at all SMEs to inform them of the support available, including the appeals process if rejected for finance. These details have been made available to ethnic minority businesses through key regional events, newsletters, and the various partners and networks that sit on the British Bankers' Association Diversity and Inclusion Business Council launched in 2014. The Authority also sits on the advisory group of the Enterprise Diversity Alliance, with a number of banks who also run specific Enterprise Diversity Alliance business support and finance work-streams.Action 2: Making support easier to accessThe British Bankers' Association, with banks, has run a series of mentoring workshops and because of these, and follow up bank support, some ethnic minority businesses have created their own mentoring networks and many of these businesses have taken up mentoring support. Events are held in areas with a high concentration of ethnic minority businesses notably Leicester, London, Wolverhampton and Birmingham, to raise awareness, understanding and build confidence in accessing finance. Specialist mentoring is offered to ethnic minority businesses through mentoring organisations such as Business in the Community, Capital Enterprises and SCA Management Consulting Ltd. If a mentee wishes to specify a particular ethnicity for their mentor they can do so at the matching stage. Action 3: Promote the alternativesThe Government is legislating through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill to require large banks to refer declined small business finance applications to online platforms, who will seek to match businesses seeking finance to alternative lenders. Community Development Finance Institutions will be able to access these platforms alongside a range of other lenders, including challenger banks and peer-to-peer lenders. This proposal will help put small businesses seeking finance in touch with lenders who may be able to help them.Action 4: Use Local Enterprise Partnerships to best advantageLocal Enterprise Partnerships have been established as voluntary partnerships and are encouraged by Government to ensure that their boards are representative of the businesses in their locality, and are not dominated by a single group or organisation.Action 5: Expanding our understandingThe 2013 Ethnic Minority Business report http://www.sme-finance-monitor.co.uk/ was published earlier this year. The 2014 report is due to be published in January 2015. This work, coupled with that of the bank and BIS supported Enterprise Research Centre, is being used by the British Bankers' Association's Diversity and Inclusion Business Council to determine policy actions to take forward.Action 6: Supporting the dialogueThe Ethnic Moinority Business representation at the Business Finance Roundtable is through Professor Monder Ram of Birmingham University who runs the Enterprise Diversity Alliance, co-leads the Enterprise Research Centre diversity work and is a member of DWP's Ethnic Minority Employment Stakeholder Group. Alongside this sits the British Bankers' Association Diversity and Inclusion Business Council launched in 2014 which includes the leading Ethnic Minority Business experts and networks. As actions have been progressing since 2013, no further Ministerial meetings have taken place.

Private Rented Housing: Evictions

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what records his Department keeps of the number of retaliatory evictions; what criteria he uses to define retaliatory eviction; and how many retaliatory evictions took place in the last (a) 12 months and (b) five years.

Brandon Lewis: This information is not centrally recorded.

Planning: Health

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that the planning system addresses (a) size and quality of housing, (b) opportunities for physical activity such as cycling and walking, (c) air and noise pollution, (d) access to green space, (e) isolation and loneliness and (f) other factors known to affect wellbeing.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 03 November 2014



The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, which includes the health, social and cultural well-being of local communities. It: - sets out that good design is indivisible from good planning and should contribute to making places better for people; - asks planners to work to create safe and secure layouts which minimise conflicts between traffic and cyclists or pedestrians, and give priority to pedestrian and cycle movements; - enables local communities, through the preparation of local and neighbourhood plans, to identify for special protection green or open areas of particular importance to them as Local Green Space; and - seeks to conserve and enhance the natural environment and reduce pollution. My Department has this year published planning guidance which: Sets a strong focus on design and includes tools which local authorities may use;Sets out how local strategies to improve health and wellbeing and the provision of the required health infrastructure can be taken into account in local and neighbourhood plan making and when determining planning applications;Seeks to promote walking and cycling, whilst avoiding unfairly penalising drivers;Asks that councils’ Local Plans consider how to support walking and cycling facilities, and assess cycle safety;Promotes the provision of bike storage space in new developments;Recommends removing street clutter, to make pavements clearer and more spacious for pedestrians;Sets out how the impact on air quality and noise can be mitigated, including using green infrastructure, promoting infrastructure to promote modes of transport with low impact on air quality and incorporating good design to minimise noise transmission through the use of screening.  Furthermore, through the Housing Standards Review, the Government has developed a nationally described space standard to offer a consistent set of requirements with regard to the size of new homes. Local authorities will not be required to adopt a space standard, but where they choose to do so, it should be the nationally described space standard. I also refer the hon. Member to the Government’s cycling delivery plan, published on 16 October, which can be found online at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/cycling-delivery-plan-informal-consultation It is for councils and local communities to use their local and neighbourhood plans and existing planning powers to shape where development can go and create well-designed, safe and attractive places.

Council Housing: Hampshire

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in Rushmoor Borough Council area are currently on a council housing waiting list; and how many of these (a) have waited longer than three years, (b) are single and (c) have five or more children.

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in New Forest District Council area are currently on a council housing waiting list; and how many of these (a) have waited longer than three years, (b) are single and (c) have five or more children.

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in Havant Borough Council area are currently on a council housing waiting list; and how many of these (a) have waited longer than three years, (b) are single and (c) have five or more children.

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in Gosport Borough Council area are currently on a council housing waiting list; and how many of these (a) have waited longer than three years, (b) are single and (c) have five or more children.

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in Hart District Council area are currently on a council housing waiting list; and how many of these (a) have waited longer than three years, (b) are single and (c) have five or more children.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to my written answer of 10 November 2014, PQ 212865.

Housing: Construction

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) private and (b) public sector homes have been built in each of the last 30 years.

Brandon Lewis: Statistics on house building completions by tenure in England are published in the Department’s live table 209 (annual) which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building Taken together, the housing association and local authority tenures provide estimates of total social housing completions, but these figures generally understate total affordable supply. This is because the house building figures are categorised by the type of developer rather than the intended final tenure, leading to under recording of affordable housing, and a corresponding over recording of private enterprise figures. A fuller picture of all affordable housing new build completions is published in the Department’s live table 1009, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply

Council Housing: Greater London

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many social homes in London have been built under section 106 agreements in each of the last 10 years.

Brandon Lewis: Statistics on additional affordable homes provided under section 106 agreements are published in Table 1000 on the Department’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply These figures include only those homes funded under section 106 without any additional capital grant and are only published at an England level.

Council Housing: Hampshire

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in the Test Valley Borough Council area are currently on council housing waiting lists; and how many such people (a) have waited longer than three years, (b) are single persons and (c) have five or more children.

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in the Portsmouth City Council area are currently on a council housing waiting list; and how many such people (a) have waited longer than three years, (b) are single persons and (c) have five or more children.

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in the Winchester City Council area are currently on a council housing waiting list; and how many such people (a) have waited longer than three years, (b) are single persons and (c) have five or more children.

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in the Southampton City Council area are currently on a council housing waiting list; and how many such people (a) have waited longer than three years, (b) are single persons and (c) have five or more children.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to my written answer of 10 November 2014, PQ 212865.

Buildings

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many buildings owned by his Department have been sold in each year since 2010.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Housing: Energy

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the consequences on energy efficiency of housing of scrapping the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Stephen Williams: The Housing Standards Review has clearly established the Government's policy to rationalise and simplify the many overlapping and confusing technical housing sandards currently in operation. The Review will enable quality and sustainable housing developments to be brought forward more easily but without compromising essential safety and accessibility protections.The Government does not anticipate any negative impact on the energy efficiency of housing as a consequence of the Code for Sustainable Homes being wound down. The Code does not affect the existing housing stock, and only affects a proportion of new homes being constructed. The new Building Regulations Part L, brought in from April 2014, already requires an aggregate 6% energy performance above current Code 3 equivalent, and has introduced a mandatory energy efficiency requirement for all new homes. The Housing Standards Review consultation proposes that from the point when the proposals are implemented the energy efficiency requirements in the Regulations will be set at a level equivalent to Code level 4. This is equivalent to a further uplift of 20% on 2010 Part L, across the build mix. Finally, the Government has firmly committed to delivering zero carbon housing from 2016.

Planning

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reason the Government has only responded to part of the consultation launched on 23 March 2014 into planning performance and planning contraventions; and when it intends to respond to the remainder of that consultation.

Brandon Lewis: To reduce the burden of consultation paperwork on councils, industry and other interested parties, we seek where possible to bundle up and combine consultations, to make it easier to respond. However, we may respond to the individual topics in stages. We will publish a formal response to the ‘planning contributions’ part of that consultation document in due course. We are taking the same approach to the Technical Consultation on Planning published in July, which wrapped up consultations on six separate policy areas.

Scotland Office

Pay

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many Instant Rewards of what value were given to his Department's officials in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

David Mundell: Instant Rewards were given to Scotland Office officials as follows in 2013 and 2014; (a) one award of £50, and (b) nil to date.

Public Appointments

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, on how many occasions his Department has made appointments by exception since 2010; and who was appointed for each such post.

David Mundell: The Civil Service Commission publish details of appointments made by exception and approved by them in their annual reports and on their website. These reports are available in the Library of the House. It would not be appropriate to publish details of the requests turned down by the Commission as the numbers involved are so small.

Public Appointments

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, on how many occasions his Department has had requests for appointments by exception to the Senior Civil Service turned down by the Civil Service Commission since 2010; and who was appointed for each such post.

David Mundell: The Civil Service Commission publish details of appointments made by exception and approved by them in their annual reports and on their website. These reports are available in the Library of the House. It would not be appropriate to publish details of the requests turned down by the Commission as the numbers involved are so small.

Poverty: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many (a) adults and (b) children were living in poverty in each UK parliamentary constituency in Scotland in each year since 2010.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: Estimates of the number and proportion of adults and children in relative low income are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. This information is captured using the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and has been reported since 1998/99. These estimates are available for each financial year up to 2012/13, the latest period for which estimates are available.The number and proportion of adults and children in relative poverty is not available at constituency level. This is because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this level.

Children: Poverty

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the number of children in Scotland living in poverty in each year since 2010.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: Estimates of the number and proportion of children in relative low income are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. This information is captured using the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and has been reported since 1998/99. These estimates are available for each financial year up to 2012/13, the latest period for which estimates are available.Average figures for three survey years have been combined for region and individual countries; this is because single year estimates are not considered to be sufficiently reliable for geographies at a lower level than the UK. The estimates for Scotland can be found below:Estimated number (millions) and proportion of children in relative low income by country and region (Before Housing Costs) Number (and percentage) of children in relative low income2007/08 – 2009/100.2 million (20%)2008/09 – 2010/110.2 million (19%)2009/10 – 2011/120.2 million (17%)2010/11 – 2012/130.2 million (17%)(Source: HBAI 2012/13

Income Tax

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2014, HC Deb, 15 October 2014, column 286, what details regarding the implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax are still under discussion; when he expects those discussions to conclude; and which government department will have responsibility for providing information to income tax payers about changes to the tax system in Scotland.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: Implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax is being led by an HMRC project with oversight provided by a programme board with representatives from HMRC, HM Treasury, the Scotland Office and Scottish Government. The project is progressing a range of issues associated with defining the detail of the implementation and operation of the Scottish rate and the project is on track to make the necessary changes in readiness for April 2016.HMRC will have prime responsibility for informing tax payers about these changes and will work with the Scottish Government to ensure that individuals and business have access to the information they will need.

Pay

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what representations he has received from the Scottish Government on the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and if he will place in the Library any such representations.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: I have received no representations from the Scottish Government regarding the Living Wage.

Income Tax

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, when he last met with his ministerial counterparts in HM Treasury to discuss implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: I have regular meetings with cabinet colleagues, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, where a wide range of topics are discussed.Additionally, my officials are very actively engaged in a wide ranging work programme concerning the implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax. This includes working closely with UK Government and Scottish Government officials to support the timely introduction of all fiscal powers of the Scotland Act 2012.

Rendition

Mr Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether Police Scotland has concluded its investigation of alleged rendition flights which may have landed in Scottish airports.

David Mundell: Policing in Scotland is a devolved matter and any requests for information relating to investigations should be made to the Scottish Government and Police Scotland. The UK Government does not hold the information requested.

Department for Transport

Public Appointments

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions his Department has made appointments by exception since 2010; and who was appointed for each such post.

Claire Perry: As reported in the Civil Service Commissioners Audit report, the number of appointments made by exception since 2010 are as follows:YearNumber of exceptions Grade 6 and below2010/112202011/12No appointments were made by exception during the year within the Department and its agencies,although it is possible that some former Civil Servants (below SCS Level 2) may havebeen re-appointed under Exception 5, Re appointment of former Civil Servants2012/13312103/1429 Information on who was appointed to each post is not held centrally.

Roads: Construction

Mr John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many new miles of motorway and trunk road are planned for the next five years.

Mr John Hayes: A total of 716.4 additional lane miles are planned over the next five years. This consists of schemes both currently under construction and those planned to start construction within the next five years. There are currently fourteen schemes in construction that will deliver 239.9 additional lane miles. A further twenty two schemes are currently scheduled to start construction within the next five years and they will add an additional 476.5 lane miles. By way of context, five schemes have been started and already completed under the current Administration, adding 64.4 additional lane miles.

A4: Hammersmith and Fulham

Mr John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the temporary lower speed limit on the A4 Hammersmith flyover will be lifted.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Mayor of London is responsible for this matter. I understand from Transport for London that the reduction in the speed limit to 30 mph was a permanent measure, and that there are no plans to revert back to the 40 mph speed limit on the Hammersmith Flyover. This is because during the strengthening work prior to the Olympic Games in 2012, the speed limit on the carriageway was permanently reduced from 40 mph to 30 mph to maintain road safety. This was due to the reduction in road width required to enable the installation of the post-tensioning system in the central reserve. There are still some strengthening and bridge bearing replacement works to be carried out and these are currently being delivered.

Roads: Air Pollution

Mr Michael Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve air quality on roads where air quality management zones have been designated.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Government is committed to tackling this issue and want to improve air quality and reduce pollution in towns and cities, which is good for people’s health and the environment. £2 billion worth of measures have been announced since 2010 that will help to improve air quality by increasing the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, and supporting sustainable travel and green transport initiatives. This includes modifying over 2000 older buses and some other vehicles including taxis with pollution reducing technology on some of the most polluted roads in towns and cities in England.

Railways: Concessions

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Southern railway on the expansion of the Unizone rail scheme between Hastings and Brighton; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: There have been no discussions with Southern on the expansion of the Unizone rail scheme between Hastings and Brighton.

Tolls

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will encourage the operators of the M6 toll, the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing, the Severn Bridge, and other electronic toll roads to use a common tag system.

Mr John Hayes: The Severn Bridge and the M6 Toll both have their own tag systems for paying tolls. The Dartford-Thurrock river crossing, however, will no longer use tags for payment from 30 November when the new payment arrangements, known as Dart Charge, will be introduced. The European Commission is working on toll payment interoperability, and the Severn Bridge and M6 Toll are compliant with related legally defined technical standards. We are broadly supportive of such interoperability for tolled crossings where this makes sense for road users, but these should not put additional costs on other road users who will not benefit from interoperability.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Pay

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many Instant Rewards of what value were given to his Department's officials in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office operates an in year performance awards scheme for staff below the Senior Civil Service. This is devolved to Directorates as a way of recognising individual or team contributions to business delivery. Directorates determine the number and size of awards granted in a given year up to a ceiling allocation determined by HR Directorate. As such, no data is centrally held on the number of Instant Rewards made to staff by individual Directorates.

British Overseas Territories

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which British Overseas Territories have established exclusive economic zones.

Mr David Lidington: Two British Overseas Territories, Pitcairn and Bermuda, have exclusive economic zones. Eleven British Overseas Territories have fisheries or other zones beyond the territorial sea, namely the British Indian Ocean Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Montserrat, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, St Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha and Gough Islands all have fisheries or other zones.

Ascension Island

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many commercial fishing licences have been sold to UK-registered vessels to fish in the waters of Ascension Island in each of the last five years.

Mr David Lidington: Fisheries management is a devolved issue and as such is the responsibility of the Ascension Island Government. A pilot commercial fishery was set up in October 2010. Data from before this period is unavailable. From 2010-2013 no commercial fishing licences had been sold to UK-registered vessels to fish in the waters of Ascension Island.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much income the Turks and Caicos Islands government derived from (a) tourism and (b) fisheries in the last five financial years for which figures are available.

Mr David Lidington: The Turks and Caicos Islands government is responsible for deciding how to raise revenue from tourism and fisheries and how it makes this information available.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of the expenditure of the Turks and Caicos Islands government was spent on health and health-related debts in the last five financial years for which records are available.

Mr David Lidington: The Turks and Caicos Islands government is responsible for its own budget, including expenditure on health and health-related debts and how it makes this information available.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the annual operating budget of the Turks and Caicos Islands government Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs has been in each year since 2007.

Mr David Lidington: The Turks and Caicos Islands government is responsible for its own budget, including how much it apportions to the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs and how it makes this information available.

Argentina

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether sale of Swedish Gripen fighters to Argentina would be contrary to the EU Code of Conduct on arms exports.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK has not received any export licence applications related to the sale of Swedish Gripen fighters to Argentina.

Vietnam

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Vietnamese counterpart on the effect on the international reputation of Vietnam of the killing of domestic dogs in that country for the dog meat industry.

Mr Hugo Swire: In Vietnam, the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat is legal. In the absence of international norms, laws or agreements governing the trade and consumption of dog meat, it is a matter for the authorities in each country to introduce and enforce the necessary legislation to end the ill treatment of animals. However, the UK takes seriously reports of animal cruelty throughout the world and is committed to raising standards of animal welfare at home and aboard. I will make my views known during my forthcoming visit to Vietnam.

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what targets have been set for the release of his Department's records to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in his Department are engaged in reviewing records for this purpose.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), like all government departments, is required to comply with the statutory timetable for the review of its files under the Public Records Act (PRA). Currently the FCO has a backlog of annual departmental files awaiting review as a result of the review and release of colonial administration files over the 2011-2013 period. The FCO’s Special Collection files, which consist primarily of older historical records, also form part of our review programme.The FCO has agreed a review timetable with The National Archives. The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Mr Grayling), approved the timetable upon the advice of the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives, who reviewed and considered the timetable for transfer. Our review plans as well as the projected release dates for FCO files at The National Archives are published at www.gov.uk/archive-records.A team of 41 FCO part-time sensitivity reviewers (former senior diplomats) is responsible for the appraisal and selection of FCO files for permanent preservation and the subsequent sensitivity review of those files prior to release.

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy that the new Conflict, Stability and Security Fund implement the report of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact on the Conflict Pool, published in July 2012.

Mr David Lidington: We welcomed the 2012 Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) report into the Conflict Pool (CP), which made a number of recommendations to improve its governance. ICAI’s recommendations have been factored into the design phase of the new Fund. As the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund will operate under a different governance structure from the CP, not all of the recommendations ICAI have made for the CP will be relevant to the Fund.

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy that the new Conflict, Stability and Security Fund will publish annual reports.

Mr David Lidington: The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) will begin operating in April 2015, bringing together a number of new and current Government resources. The Government will ensure full reporting to Parliament on the CSSF. Details of this will be confirmed in due course.

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy that the new Conflict, Stability and Security Fund will be used only for non-military peacebuilding efforts; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: Helping to build peace and security in a fragile or conflict-affected state is difficult and complex. The Government draws on the most effective combination of defence, diplomacy, development assistance, security and intelligence to achieve the National Security Council’s priorities and long-term goals on conflict, stability and security. The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund will be a mix of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA resources which will allow for a range of interventions, including security sector reform, peace keeping support and upstream capacity building which are crucial to building stability and paving the way for sustainable peace.

Egypt

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Egyptian counterpart about the deadline of Monday 10 November for all civil society organisations to register under the Law on Associations (Law 84 of 2002).

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I raised the Law on Associations and the deadline for registration at our meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister on 27 October.We remain very concerned at the decreasing space for civil society and the media to operate. At the Universal Periodic Review of Egypt’s human rights situation in Geneva on 5 November, the UK recommended that the Egyptian government ensure full implementation of the provisions for the free operation of civil society as contained in the constitution, including through a revised NGO law that conforms to international standards and protects freedom of expression.

Egypt

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what bilateral and multilateral steps his Department has taken to encourage the Egyptian authorities to withdraw the 10 November deadline for all civil society organisations to register under the Law on Associations (Law 84 of 2002) and to retract the draft Law on Associations presented by Egypt's Ministry of Social Solidarity on 26 June 2014.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I raised the Law on Associations and the deadline for registration at our meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister on 27 October.We remain very concerned at the decreasing space for civil society and the media to operate. At the Universal Periodic Review of Egypt’s human rights situation in Geneva on 5 November, the UK recommended that the Egyptian government ensure full implementation of the provisions for the free operation of civil society as contained in the constitution, including through a revised NGO law that conforms to international standards and protects freedom of expression.

Religious Freedom

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent of persecution of Christians in (a) the Middle East and (b) North Africa.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Conflict and instability in the Middle East and North Africa have made the plight of Christians and other religious minorities a significant concern. In many cases religious minorities are facing extremely difficult circumstances. Many communities are suffering, and indeed some countries risk seeing the disappearance of communities that have existed there peacefully for centuries.We deplore all discrimination against religious minorities and constraints on their freedom to practise their faith. We regularly urge all governments in the Middle East and North Africa to ensure the protection of all religious minorities. We encourage them to develop inclusive political systems that represent all of their citizens.We back our words with actions, working proactively in countries where we can to tackle these issues. For example, in Yemen the Middle East and North Africa Conflict Pool is delivering a grassroots community reconciliation initiative to ease tensions between different communities. In Syria a number of British Government funded projects have brought together religious leaders from all denominations (including Alawi, Christians, Kurds, Druze and Sunnis) to foster greater understanding between faiths and support reconciliation. In Tunisia, our Arab Partnership Initiative funds a project run by the Centre for the Study of Islam and Democracy which considers, amongst other things, the protection of religious minorities under the new constitution.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met his Argentinian counterpart to discuss the Falkland Islands; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has not spoken directly to the Argentine Foreign Minister on this issue. Neither did his predecessor my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague).In February 2013 my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and representatives of the Falkland Islands Government, offered to meet with Mr Timerman to discuss issues of mutual interest in the South Atlantic, including hydrocarbons. This meeting was declined.

Libya

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effects of fighting between government factions and Islamist rebels on populated residential areas of Benghazi, Libya.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are gravely concerned by the fighting between rival militias in Benghazi since May 2014. The UN estimate that 15,000 people have been displaced from their homes around Benghazi, and there have been reports that over 200 people have been killed since mid-October. The fighting in Benghazi also undermines the United Nations-led peace talks and diminishes the prospects of a stable and prosperous Libya. At a meeting in Paris on 30 October 2014, the UK Special Envoy for Libya, Jonathan Powell, alongside his international counterparts, from the African Union, the Arab League, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Spain, Turkey and the United States, reaffirmed that there is no military solution to the current situation in Libya. They called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and a return to dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations. We are also concerned by reports that groups such as Ansar Al-Sharia (Benghazi), who have publicly rejected dialogue and the democratic process, are involved in the fighting. This underlines the threat posed by extremists to Libya and the wider region.

China

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance the Government has provided to the authorities in China since the earthquake in Yunnan province.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Chinese authorities did not request any assistance following the earthquake in Yunnan Province. The Chinese Government dispatched over 2,500 soldiers to the region. Our consular team monitored the situation closely, and established that no British nationals were involved in the disaster.

Israel

Mr George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Israeli government condemning its (a) closure of the al-Aqsa mosque and other parts of the al-Sharif site in Jerusalem and (b) plan to build 1,000 housing units in illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Our Ambassador to Tel Aviv delivered a clear message to the Israeli Cabinet Secretary on 30 October, advocating reopening of the mosque. The mosque re-opened on 31 October for men over 50 and for women. I issued a statement on 29 October condemning the announcement of plans for 1,060 new housing units in East Jerusalem. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have raised this issue with the Israeli National Security Adviser, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Political-Military Adviser, senior contacts at the National Security Council and the Cabinet Office.

Iran

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department have raised the cases of Farshid Fathi, Behnam Irani, Shahin Lahouti and other Christians imprisoned for their faith in Iran when in conversations with representatives of the Iranian government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have not raised these cases directly with the Iranian Government, however we remain deeply concerned by the detention and ill treatment of all prisoners of conscience in Iran, and the ongoing discrimination against Christians and other minority religious groups. We have called for the Iranian government to protect the rights of all minority groups in Iran and end the persecution of individuals on the basis of their faith, most recently during our representations to the United Nations Human Rights Council during the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in Iran on 31 October.

Iran

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to encourage the Iranian government to fulfil its obligations to uphold religious freedoms under Article 18 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We remain deeply concerned by the detention and ill treatment of all prisoners of conscience in Iran, and the ongoing discrimination against Christians and other minority religious groups. We have called for the Iranian government to protect the rights of all minority groups in Iran and end the persecution of individuals on the basis of their faith, most recently during our representations to the United Nations Human Rights Council during the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in Iran on 31 October.

India

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department work for the India Diaspora Champion.

Mr Hugo Swire: Staff members in the India Team in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London and in our missions in India, do provide some support to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Ms Patel) in her role as Diaspora Champion where she is contributing to the objectives of Her Majesty’s Government. This includes arranging meetings, facilitating travel and providing media and logistical support.

India

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance the High Commission in India (a) has provided and (b) plans to provide to Billy Irving.

Mr Hugo Swire: We continue to follow Mr Irving's case closely. I have personally raised it at the highest level with the Indian authorities, most recently with Indian Minister of State, General VK Singh, as have other Ministers. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Whitney (Mr Cameron) did so last year and the Deputy Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Hallam (Mr Clegg) discussed it with Prime Minister Modi when they met in August. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymeade and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) also raised the case with the External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj in October. Our High Commissioner continues to raise it regularly with the Indian authorities.I have met Mr Irving’s family and therefore appreciate how difficult the last year has been for both him and them. Consular officials have consistently sought to provide assistance to him and the other British nationals involved, as well as their families in the UK. This support included fortnightly visits when they were in prison and liaison with the prison authorities, including the Director General of Prisons for Tamil Nadu, on any welfare concerns. We have also regularly pressed the men’s company, AdvanFort, to honour their commitments to pay the men, provide legal representation and fund their living costs while the legal proceedings continue.We are currently awaiting the outcome of the Supreme Court Appeal hearing and will continue to provide all appropriate consular assistance. We will also continue to raise the case with the Indian authorities at all levels.

Buildings

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the occupancy rates were of the Foreign Office in the King Charles Street building in (a) 2005, (b) 2010 and (c) 2014.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office compiles Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff statistics for inclusion in the Department’s annual sustainability reporting. The total number of FTEs occupying the King Charles Street building in 2013-14 was 2,172, (excluding Facilities Management, Catering, Security and Nursery contract staff). For 2010-11 the equivalent total was 1,741.The increase in the number of staff in King Charles Street between 2010-11 and 2013-14 relates to staff relocations from the Old Admiralty Building. 2004-5 occupancy statistics are unavailable and could not now be compiled except at disproportionate cost.

Burma

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Burmese counterpart on the release of Mr Brang Yung and Mr Lahpai Gam; and what steps he is taking to ensure that all political prisoners in Burma are released unconditionally.

Mr Hugo Swire: I have raised specific political prisoner cases, but not these two individuals. Nevertheless, the cause of political prisoners has long been one the UK has championed, and it is one that we continue to raise at the highest levels. Most recently I raised our concerns with Deputy Foreign Minister Thant Kyaw in June, and both the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) and the then Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) discussed political prisoners with President Thein Sein during his visit to London last year.We welcome the release of thousands of political prisoners under the current Burmese government. However, we remain very concerned by the continued arrests, detentions and sentencing of political activists and we continue to lobby for the unconditional release of all political prisoners. I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 28 October 2014, Official Report, Column 168, in which I stated clearly that "One Political Prisoner is one too many".

Absent Voting: British Nationals Abroad

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take prior to the General Election to encourage British Missions to promote an uptake in electoral registration among British citizens currently overseas who were resident in the UK at some time within the last 15 years.

James Duddridge: The Government is committed to doing all it can to maximise voter registration, including among British citizens living overseas.In addition, the Electoral Commission promotes awareness of UK electoral systems and electoral registration procedures including how to vote, and the Government understands that the Commission will target British citizens living overseas as part of their online advertising campaigns ahead of the General Election.The Government will continue to explore ways to encourage registration among overseas electors in discussions with the Electoral Commission and other interested parties.

Colombia

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the recent report by the human rights non-governmental organisation, CINEP on the role of the Colombian state in human rights abuses in Colombia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: We continue to receive a large number reports from a range of organisations. We are in the process of reviewing the report by CINEP and, if appropriate, will make a statement as necessary.

British Nationals Abroad: Human Rights

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a comparative assessment of the human rights protections afforded to British citizens visiting countries that (a) are and (b) are not parties to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mr David Lidington: Countries party to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are legally bound to secure to everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in Section 1 of the Convention. There is legal recourse to the European Court of Human Rights for all persons within the jurisdiction of a state party who believe their rights to have been violated by a state party whilst they were within the jurisdiction of that State, and they have exhausted their domestic remedies in that State. The Court’s judgments are binding on the state against which the case was brought, though in practice implementation differs from country to country.The situation in countries which are not party to the ECHR will depend on the provisions of domestic law and the international legal obligations applicable to the state in question which will vary depending on the human rights provisions in treaties to which that country is a party.

Department for International Development

Egypt

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect on the UK's funding of civil society programmes and organisations in Egypt of the revision to Article 78 of the Egyptian Penal Code and restrictions on NGO's access to foreign funding; and what contingency plans she has put in place.

Mr Desmond Swayne: During his meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shukri on 27 October 2014, the Foreign Secretary raised the need to safeguard space for civil society in order to fulfil the Government of Egypt’s stated commitment to inclusive governance. At Egypt’s Universal Periodic Review on 5 November 2014, the UK representative to the United Nations recommended that the provisions in the Egyptian constitution for freedom of civil society in Egypt are fully implemented through a revised NGO law that is in line with international standards.

Developing Countries: Taxation

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on poorer countries' ability to benefit from greater transparency in taxation.

Justine Greening: DFID and HM Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly to discuss issues of common interest, including tax transparency.

West Africa

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the strengthening of health systems in West Africa to better cope with epidemics in the future.

Justine Greening: The UK is leading the international response to Ebola in Sierra Leone and has committed £230m to help fight the disease. This outbreak of Ebola is unprecedented in scale and highlights the vital importance of strong public healthcare systems. The UK is the biggest bilateral donor to Sierra Leone and commenced a major health systems programme in 2012.

Department for Education

Academies

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many overseas students are paying for boarding places in academies.

Mr Edward Timpson: Data on how many students that live overseas are paying for boarding places in academies is not held centrally. Admission to state-funded boarding schools and academies is limited to children who are nationals of the UK and are eligible to hold a full UK passport, or those who are nationals of other European Economic Area countries or those who have the right of residence in the UK. Pupils that board will include British children and children from other European Economic Area countries.Where a school is an independent school that becomes an academy and there are children from non-European Economic Area countries already on-roll at that independent school we allow those pupils to continue their education at the same school after it has changed status to become an academy. These students are required to pay full-fees covering education and boarding.

Sixth Form Education: Admissions

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students are enrolled in those school and academy sixth forms that have opened since 2010.

Mr Edward Timpson: In 2013/14, the latest year for which data is available, there were 12,500 students enrolled in those new sixth forms which had opened between 2011/12 and 2013/14. The Department for Education does not have records for new sixth forms prior to 2011.

Academies: Admissions

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students are enrolled in those 16-19 academy and free schools that have opened since 2010.

Mr Edward Timpson: In 2013/14, the latest year for which data is available, there were 3,000 students enrolled in those 16-19 academy and free schools that opened since 2010.[1] This figure does not include those that opened in 2014 as there is no student data yet available. The data sources used are the School Census 2013/14 S02 and Individualised Learner Record 2013/14 R14. The figures include funded learners only. [1] Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.

Special Educational Needs

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has conducted an impact assessment of the potential effect the 2014 EU Procurement Directives will have on the procurement by local authorities of places in academy schools for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the procurement obligations of local authorities are when seeking school places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the 2014 EU procurement directives on how local authorities procure special school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of EU procurement regulations on the ability of parents to express a preference for an independent or non-maintained special school under clause 43 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure that academy schools can respond to competitive tenders from local authorities seeking to place children and young people in schools for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Mr Edward Timpson: Section 38 of the Children and Families Act 2014 strengthens the rights for parents and young people to request that a particular school or post-16 institution be named in an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If a maintained school, maintained nursery school, Academy, non-maintained special school, FE college or an independent special school or specialist post-16 institution included on the list of providers approved by the Secretary of State under section 41 of the Act is requested, then the local authority must, after consultation with the institution, name the requested school or institution in the EHC plan unless specific criteria apply. Section 43 then requires the school or institution named in the EHC plan to admit the child or young person. Guidance was issued to local authorities, schools and other education providers on this statutory admission process in June through the 0-25 SEND Code of Practice (2014), the code is published here:www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementing-the-0-to-25-special-needs-system Local authorities and the schools and institutions listed above should operate within this statutory framework and ensure that children and young people receive appropriate and high-quality provision, and that public money is used to best effect. Cabinet Office has recently consulted on draft Regulations to implement the new EU procurement Directives. The Department for Education is working closely with them, and guidance will be published in due course.

Teachers: Pay

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff members in all open free schools were paid a salary for their work with that school before its opening; and how much has been paid to such staff in total.

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which free schools have paid how many staff members a salary for their work at that school before its opening; and how much has been spent in total on salaries for such staff.

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the maximum amount of time is that a salary has been paid to a staff member of a free school before that school opened.

Mr Edward Timpson: Once an application to establish a free school, university technical college or studio school has received initial approval to proceed to the pre-opening stage, the Department for Education provides a grant to the proposer group to help cover essential non-capital costs, including appropriate salary costs, up to the point at which the school opens. The rates at which these grants are paid are published in the department’s guidance for free school proposer groups (at paragraph 6.11 on page 38), which is published online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-pre-opening-guide Information about how many staff were paid a salary before a particular school opened, how much was paid to staff in total, which groups made such payments and how long salaries were paid before opening is not collected centrally. However, all academy trusts, including free school trusts, are required to comply with company and charity law regarding the preparation of financial statements. Where the trust has a signed funding agreement with the Department for Education, the financial statement must comply with the Academies Accounts Direction. This direction sets out the requirements relating to financial statements, including details of expected staffing disclosures.

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the increasing number of 16 to 18 year olds whose destinations are unknown in her Department's statistics on 16 to 18 year olds not in education, employment or training.

Nick Boles: Local authorities are responsible for tracking young people’s participation in education and training. They may record young people as ‘destination not known’ for a number of reasons. It may be that a local authority does not have effective information sharing arrangements with schools and colleges, or because young people have left their last known address and cannot be contacted.The Department for Education publishes annual local level data showing the proportion of 16 to 18 year olds whose destination was not known, alongside statistics on 16 to 18 year olds not in education, employment or training. The proportion of 16 to 18 year olds whose destination was not known across England as a whole fell from 10.8% at the end of 2012 to 9.2% at the end of 2013.

Academies

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish her Department's assessment of the adequacy of procurement and commissioning expertise within academy schools and special academies to meet the criteria of the 2014 EU procurement directives from April 2015.

Mr Edward Timpson: Academies are publicly funded independent schools. Becoming an academy gives schools more control over their curriculum, budget and staffing. This includes responsibility for procurement, enabling them to achieve greater efficiencies and value for money. An academy trust must however apply the basic rules of procurement whenever it spends public money.We are putting opportunities in place for academies to learn about the new directives and how they apply to all schools. Compliance with EU procurement directives is not a new requirement for academies. The Department for Education has developed an eLearning tool called Buyways (www.buyways.co.uk) that is available free of charge to all schools and raises awareness of EU procurement regulations and highlights procurement best practice to support schools. We encourage academies to use procurement routes which are already EU compliant. Details are published online in our procurement guidance www.gov.uk/government/collections/buying-for-schools and www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-procurement-resource-buying-for-your-academy

Academies: Admissions

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2014 to the hon. Member for Huddersfield to Question 211964, what derogations from the Admissions Code have been allowed in 54 free schools and three academies; and what the demonstrable evidence is that such derogations benefit local children.

Mr Edward Timpson: All academies and free schools must comply with the School Admissions Code. This ensures their admission arrangements are fair, clear and objective.It is through the Funding Agreement that the Secretary of State has agreed different arrangements (‘derogations’ from the Code) for academies and free schools, but only in limited circumstances, where there is demonstrable evidence that it will benefit local children.On opening, all free schools are permitted to allocate places outside of local authority co-ordination in their first year only; while all academy schools that have opened since 2012 can grant admissions priority to pupils eligible for the pupil and service premiums. The revised School Admissions Code currently before the House proposes extending this freedom to all state-funded schools.In addition, we have granted school specific derogations in the following areas:46 free schools are able to give admissions priority to founders’ children. Founders’ status is granted only to those individuals who have played a material role in setting up the school and who continue to be involved in the running of the school.Three free schools are able to give admissions priority to the children of staff without having to meet the two-year qualification in the Code. This has enabled free schools on opening to recruit good quality staff quickly to the benefit of all their children.Four free schools were granted permission to give admissions priority to pupils eligible for the pupil premium prior to our extending this flexibility to all academies and free schools.In one free school, we have agreed as a transitional measure that children in an annex of a nearby maintained school which closed would be transferred to the new free school without having to apply. This enabled those displaced children to access good quality local provision.Three school specific derogations have been agreed for academies, as follows:Birmingham Ormiston Academy which became an academy in 2011 is permitted to select the majority of its intake by their aptitude for the performing arts since it is operating as a regional centre for the performing arts. The derogation enables children to obtain a specialist education unavailable elsewhere.The Priory Academy, Lincoln School of Science and Technology (LSST) in Lincoln is permitted to select 10% of its intake by aptitude in technology in recognition that the predecessor school selected on this basis. A derogation was agreed so that the school did not lose its ability to select on this basis on closing and reopening as an academy in 2008.Belvedere Academy in Liverpool became an academy in 2007. This academy’s predecessor school was an all-through fee-paying independent school. Only the secondary phase became an academy. The derogation permitted all those who were on the independent school’s roll at the point at which the academy opened, including those in the primary phase, to be admitted to the academy. This derogation will end in 2015.

Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to work with the Department for Health to ensure that new arrangements for transition and access to preventative support under the Care Act 2014 benefit young people who have care and support needs and are leaving care.

Mr Edward Timpson: Officials from the Department for Education work closely with the Department of Health on initiatives to support the transition of young people, including care leavers, to adult care and support. Past examples include: the development of statutory guidance for the transition provisions in the Care Act, which was published last month, the first cross-Government care leavers’ strategy in 2013 and our recent ‘one year on’ report which sets out how we have met the commitments in the strategy. Joint working between the two Departments in this important area is set to continue. For example, the Departments are currently working together to revise statutory guidance on promoting the health and well-being of looked-after children. This is due to be finalised in spring 2015 and we will jointly explore other ways in which we can help the sector implement the transition provisions in the Care Act.

Playing Fields

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issues on child welfare for pupils using publicly accessible pitches for sporting activities during school hours.

Mr Edward Timpson: All schools must adhere to health and safety legislation. The employer in a school must take reasonable steps to ensure that staff and pupils are not exposed to risks to their health and safety by ensuring that a risk assessment is conducted and measures put in place to minimise any known risks. The Department for Education and the health and safety executive provide advice and guidance to schools about pupil health and safety, and risk assessment. Schools should also ensure they have a designated safeguarding lead to provide support, advice and expertise to staff on matters of safety and safeguarding.

Teachers

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of additional teachers that will be needed in 2015-16.

Mr David Laws: As estimated by the 2015/16 Teacher Supply Model, English primary schools will require 29,700 qualified teachers to enter the active stock in the 2015/16 academic year. The model also estimates that English secondary schools will require 22,500 qualified teachers to enter the active stock in the 2015/16 academic year.This need for teachers will be met through a combination of new trainees, those returning to the profession, and those entering the state-funded sector in England for the first time.The Department for Education uses the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to calculate the optimum number of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) places required to match the future supply of teachers to the estimated demand for qualified teachers within the state-funded sector in England. The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) uses this information to inform their allocation of ITT places to teacher training providers.The estimates for the future demand for teachers use the projected number of pupils in schools, assumed Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs), and our best estimates for the number of teachers required to implement the Department’s policy initiatives. The model also takes into account other flows within the existing stock of teachers such as those leaving the profession or retiring as well as those expected to return to teaching in the state-funded sector.Whilst the Department estimates future teacher demand, decision-making taken at school level determines the actual number of teachers required. As with any forecast, uncertainty increases the further into the future the estimate is made for.The Department has published estimates of teacher demand in part 1 of the TSM, published online at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-supply-model

Science: Teachers

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of additional teachers that will be needed in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19, (e) 2019-20 and (f) 2020-21 in (i) mathematics, (ii) physics and (iii) computer science.

Mr David Laws: The following table provides estimates for the number of teachers needed in the English state funded-sector in each academic year from 2015/16 to 2020/21 for maths, physics, and computing. This need for teachers will be met through a combination of new trainees, those returning to the profession, and those entering the state-funded sector in England for the first time. 2015/162016/172017/182018/192019/202020/21Maths3,3003,4003,7003,6003,6003,600Physics1,0001,2001,1001,1001,1001,100Computing9009001,0001,0001,0001,000Source: Teacher Supply ModelThe Department for Education uses the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to calculate the optimum number of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) places required to match the future supply of teachers to the estimated demand for qualified teachers within the state-funded sector in England. The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) use this information to inform their allocation of ITT places to teacher training providers.The estimates for the future demand for teachers use the projected number of pupils in schools, assumed Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs) and our best estimates for the number of teachers required to implement the Department’s policy initiatives. The model also takes into account other flows within the existing stock of teachers such as those leaving the profession or retiring as well as those expected to return to teaching in the state-funded sector.The Department forecasts the need for teacher trainees one year in advance in line with the annual ITT allocation decisions. However, the TSM also forecasts teacher demand over ten years to provide an overview of long term trends.Whilst the Department estimates future teacher demand, decision-making taken at school level determines the actual number of teachers required. As with any forecast, uncertainty increases the further into the future the estimate is made for.The Department has published estimates of teacher demand in part 1 of the TSM, published online at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-supply-model

Headteachers: Retirement

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many headteachers retired in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14.

Mr David Laws: The requested information is not available broken down by the individual grades within the leadership group.The following table provides the number of leadership teachers who retired from publicly-funded schools in England by the end of March in the financial years 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. Information for 2013-14 is not yet available. Leadership Retirements[1]2009-10[2]3,2802010-114,0102011-12[3]3,8602012-13[3]3,000Source: Database of Teacher Records and Pensioner Statistical System (PENSTATS).Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 teachers.[1] Includes retirements such as Premature, Actuarially Reduced Benefits, Age, and Ill Health of head teachers, deputy heads and assistant heads.[2] Local authority maintained schools.[3] Provisional estimates.

Teachers: Recruitment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many entrants to teaching in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14 were (i) newly qualified entrants, (ii) new to the publicly-funded sector and (iii) returning to the publicly-funded sector.

Mr David Laws: The information is currently being collated and quality assured, it will be published later this year. A firm date will be announced on the Department for Education’s ‘forthcoming publications’ website shortly.[1][1] www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/statistics#forthcoming-publications

Teachers: Recruitment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many entrants there were to (a) full-time and (b) part-time teaching in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14.

Mr David Laws: The information is currently being collated and quality assured, it will be published later this year. A firm date will be announced on the Department for Education’s ‘forthcoming publications’ website shortly.[1][1] www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/statistics#forthcoming-publications

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on vaccinating cattle against bovine TB; and what progress has been made on reaching an agreement on the criteria for field trials of cattle vaccinations at EU level; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: We are awaiting the final report on field trial design proposals for vaccine and diagnostic tests to be undertaken in Great Britain. The design will need to satisfy the demands of the European Commission. Former Commissioner Borg made it clear in his January 2013 letter that field trials would need to be large scale and long lasting.

Squirrels: Diseases

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to control squirrel pox in the red squirrel population.

George Eustice: Squirrelpox virus is highly infectious and poses a major threat to red squirrel populations. That is why Defra is contributing £50,000 over two years to the Moredun Research Institute, which is undertaking research on the development of a vaccine for squirrel pox virus. This adds to the wider package of Government actions being undertaken to protect red squirrels from the impact of grey squirrels and the squirrel pox they carry. This includes Natural England and Forestry Commission participation in the Red Squirrels Northern England project and Forestry Commission provision of grant aid, through the English Woodland Grant Scheme, for grey squirrel control in red squirrel areas.

Nature Conservation: Turks and Caicos Islands

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which CITES-listed species her Department has given approval for export from the Turks and Caicos Islands in the last year; and at what level each such export quota has been set.

George Eustice: As responsibility for environmental issues in the UK’s Overseas Territories is devolved to Territory governments, it is not for the UK Government to approve exports from the Turks and Caicos Islands of specimens listed on the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The UK’s ratification of CITES has not been extended to the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Turks and Caicos Islands trade in specimens of CITES-listed species as a non-Party to CITES and issue CITES-comparable documentation to facilitate this.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what scientific advice she has received on the sustainability of the export quota for the Queen conch species in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

George Eustice: As responsibility for environmental issues in the UK’s Overseas Territories is devolved to Territory governments, it is not for the UK Government to set the Queen conch export quota for the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). Defra’s scientific advisors have therefore not carried out an assessment of the sustainability of TCI’s Queen conch quota. They have, however, advised that for issues relating to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), TCI’s Management Authority should follow the advice of TCI’s Scientific Authority when deciding whether to allow conch exports.The UK’s ratification of CITES has not been extended to the TCI. The TCI trade in specimens of CITES-listed species such as Queen conch as a non-Party to the Convention and issue CITES-comparable documentation to facilitate this.We secured sponsorship for a TCI delegate to attend a regional queen conch workshop in Panama later this month. The meeting will discuss the conservation, responsible management and sustainable trade in queen conch in the Caribbean. The TCI delegate will report on workshop findings and recommendations on his return and it is hoped that this will better inform TCI’s conch management.

Slaughterhouses: CCTV

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals for the installation of independently-monitored CCTV cameras in slaughterhouses in the UK.

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will hold discussions with animal welfare groups on commissioning an independent assessment on the installation of CCTV cameras inside UK slaughterhouses to deter illegal practices.

George Eustice: An independent assessment is currently being carried out by the Farm Animal Welfare Committee. The Government is waiting for their report, which is due at the end of year. We will look at options in the light of that report.

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, where the UK's main mobile flood pumps are based; and what time is taken to mobilise such pumps.

Dan Rogerson: The Government-funded New Dimension project saw the deployment of 50 High Volume Pumps (HVP) positioned across the country, with 46 allocated to 38 English Fire and Rescue Services and four in Scotland; an additional Strategic HVP was located centrally. There are four mobile HVPs in Wales. Under the Fire Rescue Service mutual aid arrangements Wales also have access to all of the strategic assets in England. The planning assumptions for a major incident involving man made or natural flooding, assumes a minimum of one HVP will be mobilised to respond to an incident within a maximum of two hours of request. The Environment Agency holds a range of strategic incident response supplies at its depots across England, including: · three 12 inch pumps · six24 inch pumps · 425 smaller mobile pumps · 3.8km of demountable and temporary flood defences · 21 sandbag machines The larger 12 and 24 inch pumps can be deployed within 24 hours. The Environment Agency also has access to a further six 24 inch pumps through its contracted suppliers.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much farmers in each local authority area in Wales have received in Common Agricultural Payments in each year for which data is available.

George Eustice: The administration of the Single Payment Scheme within countries in the UK is a devolved issue and therefore the operation of the Scheme in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government.

Flood Control

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many flood defences were affected by the 2013-14 winter floods; how many such defences had been temporarily repaired by 31 October 2014; how many such defences have been permanently repaired by 31 October 2014; how many areas were affected by the 2013-14 winter floods; how many of those areas had permanently repaired by 31 October 2014 all their flood defences that had been damaged by the 2013-14 winter floods; how many of those areas had some of their flood defences only temporarily repaired by 31 October 2014; and to how many of the areas affected by the 2013-14 winter floods the Environment Agency had restored flood protection by 31 October 2014.

Dan Rogerson: Going into this winter every community that was affected by the storms and floods of last winter will have the same or better standard of protection as they had before last winter.Following the tidal surge on 5 December 2013 and the winter storms, a total of 890 recovery projects were identified across England; of these, 844 projects involved the repair of flood defence assets. The remaining 46 involve surveys, studies or actions relating to incident response.By 31 October 2014, permanent repairs had been completed for 802 (95%) of the 844 defence projects. There are 42 (5%) defence projects where temporary repairs with contingency measures are in place, restoring the standard of protection to pre-winter 2013/14 levels.

White Fish: Conservation

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects to publish the review commissioned in 2012 into the evidence supporting an increase in the minimum landing size for sea bass.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the recent Solent bass survey; and what steps she plans to take in response to the findings of that survey.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to introduce domestic bass conservation policies.

George Eustice: The 2014 Solent bass survey provides confirmation of five successive poor year classes (2008 – 2012) and some initial indications of an improvement in numbers of one‐year‐olds from 2013, although the impact of the latter on future stocks will depend on subsequent survival. These findings are consistent with the most recent scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), reflecting an ongoing trend on a wider scale that European bass levels are unacceptably low and action must be taken at EU level to reverse the decline. The EU has published draft proposals for measures to apply to both recreational and commercial sectors in 2015. We expect these will be discussed at December Fisheries Council. Once the final form of any EU agreement is known we will subsequently consider additional domestic measures that will include a review of the minimum landing size.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2014 to Question 212296, how many of the approved accreditations were (a) new installations lodged after the launch of the domestic renewables heat incentive scheme and (b) legacy installations.

Amber Rudd: Of the 10,048 approved accreditations, 1,755 were new installations and 8,293 were legacy installations.

Tidal Power

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans his Department has to develop tidal power technology around the UK; and what investment he plans to allocate for such projects.

Amber Rudd: In August this year, the Department confirmed a grant award under the Marine Energy Array Deployment fund of up to £10m for the development of the world’s first tidal stream array project in the Pentland Firth.Tidal energy projects may also receive support under the Renewables Obligation and through applying for a Contract for Difference.In October 2010, the Government published the conclusions of a 2-year feasibility study into tidal power on the Severn estuary, including a regional economic impact assessment. While the Government concluded it did not see a strategic case for public investment in a tidal energy scheme in the Severn estuary, the outcome of the feasibility study does not preclude a privately financed scheme. The document can be downloaded at the following web-link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/1-severn-tidal-power-feasibility-study-conclusions-and-summary-report.



Severn Tidal Power Feasibility 15 Oct 2014
(PDF Document, 2.92 MB)

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate he has made of the overall budget for Renewable Heat Incentive in the next comprehensive spending review needed to meet the 2020 renewable heat target.

Amber Rudd: The UK is committed to meeting our obligation to increasing the use of renewable energy by 2020, and we are on track to meet the 2013/14 interim target of 5.4% of final energy consumption from renewables. Renewable heat has a key role to play in meeting the overall target of 15% by 2020, however it does not have a specific sub-target.The Impact Assessment of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme published in December 20131 suggests that plans for the Renewable Heat Incentive could deliver between 29-59 TWh by 2020/21 (including a baseline of 15TWh) with a central range of 41-47TWh.Such deployment would cost between £1.3 – 2.4 billion (in 2014 prices) annually from by 2020/21, with an average annual expenditure of £0.8 - 1.4billion (in 2014 prices) over the period 2016/17 to 2020/21. These cost estimates assume current tariff rates continue. [1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263581/Impact_Assessment_RHI_Tariff_Review_Extensions_and_Budget_Management_Dec_2013.pdf 



RHI Tarriff review Extension & Budget Mgt Dec '13
(PDF Document, 1.5 MB)

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Northern Ireland

Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, for what reasons Northern Ireland has been excluded from the Warm Home Discount Scheme; and if he will amend this Scheme to extend its remit to Northern Ireland.

Amber Rudd: Holding answer received on 07 November 2014



Fuel poverty is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, which decides its own fuel poverty objectives and policies. For example, the Department for Social Development offers energy efficiency improvement schemes for low income households through the Warm Homes Scheme, Boiler Replacement Scheme and the recently launched Affordable Warmth Scheme. There are no plans to extend the remit of the Warm Home Discount to Northern Ireland.

Renewable Energy: Scottish Islands

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will introduce incentives for the UK energy market to create the conditions to enable sub-sea cables to be laid to Scotland's islands for renewables.

Matthew Hancock: The Government introduced Contracts for Difference (CfDs) to provide efficient long-term support for all forms of low carbon electricity generation, including renewables. The specific strike price for onshore wind on the islands aims to bridge the funding gap identified as being a barrier to deployment. DECC intends that Scottish island onshore wind projects will be considered as a ‘non-established’ technology in group 2 for EMR allocation, subject to State Aid approval.DECC is working through the Scottish Islands Renewable Energy Delivery Forum, involving the Islands Councils, Scottish Government, industry and other key partners, towards connecting the Scottish islands to the GB transmission grid and thereby enabling the development of renewable energy at scale.

Attorney General

Fraud: Prosecutions

Julie Hilling: To ask the Attorney General, how many successful prosecutions have been made for non-benefit-related fraud in each year since 2009; and how many such prosecutions were for offences against an individual victim.

Jeremy Wright: The Crown Prosecution Service does not maintain a separate record of the outcome of prosecution proceedings by specific offences, such as non-benefit frauds, or where the offences prosecuted concerned one victim. To obtain this information would involve undertaking a manual search of case records which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Cybercrime

Ian Lucas: To ask the Attorney General, how many cyber-crime cases the Crown Prosecution Service has prosecuted since 2012.

Mr Robert Buckland: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by the Attorney General on the 6th November to question 213370 from the Hon. Member for Bolton West.

Buildings

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Attorney General, how many buildings owned by the Law Officers' Departments have been sold in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The Law Officers’ Departments have not sold any buildings since 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2014 to Question 208253, in what ways Hampshire Police has taken action and are taking the matter forward in respect of the letter from the hon. Member for Christchurch referred to in that Question.

Jeremy Wright: My officials have discussed the concerns you raised in your letter with Hampshire Police and I have been advised that the police will be writing to you about the matter shortly.

Wales Office

Welsh Language

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what changes there have been in Welsh language provision at Departments providing services to residents of Wales since the judicial review of the National Savings Scheme.

Alun Cairns: Following the outcome of the judicial review in March, NS&I has reinstated Welsh language services provided under its Welsh language scheme. NS&I’s reinstated Welsh language pages can be accessed online via: http://www.nsandi.com/cymraeg.

Welsh Language

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent assessment he has made for the need for further provision for access to government services in Welsh.

Alun Cairns: The Government is fully committed to the Welsh language and fully committed to providing Government services in the Welsh language where there is demand. The Wales Office is currently undertaking a review of Government services provided in Welsh to determine how they can better meet the needs of Welsh speakers in a reasonable, proportionate and cost-effective way. An official has been seconded from the Welsh Language Commissioner’s office to lead this review.

Welsh Language

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many Government departments have a Welsh language service.

Alun Cairns: The Government is fully committed to the Welsh language, and to providing Government services in Welsh where there is demand. Ten Government Departments have Welsh language schemes, approved in accordance with the Welsh Language Act 1993. These include Departments delivering key public services in Wales, such as the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Ministry of Justice

Third Sector

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, to which (a) charities and (b) voluntary organisations his Department has provided funding in the last four years; and how much funding was provided to each such body.

Mike Penning: The Ministry of Justice does not centrally record expenditure on funding for charities and voluntary organisations. To obtain this information from across the Ministry would incur a disproportionate cost as a manual check would have to be made of each business area’s month end return for each of the 48 months for which information has been requested.

Legal Opinion

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on external legal advice in each of the last four years.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Spend on external legal advice for the last four years is set out in the table below. The figures also include spend on legal representation as it is not possible to separate these figures. The figures are for the core Department and the larger executive agencies (NOMS, HMCTS and LAA). Smaller agencies (OPG and CICA) and NDPBs have not been included. Financial Year£m2010-1124.72011-1222.52012-1321.92013-1434.2 £5.5m of the increase in spend in 2013/14 is due to the cost of legal staff that transferred to TSol in July 2013; and c£4m is attributable to family legal representation at the Hillsborough Inquest; and c£1.4m to an increase in NOMS costs for legal representation.

Twitter

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to discourage aggressive and nasty tweeting.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Government is absolutely clear that abusive and threatening behaviour online is totally unacceptable. There is a number of offences which may be committed by those abusing others on social media. Internet communication which is grossly offensive or menacing may fall under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. Sending indecent, grossly offensive or threatening material to another with the purpose of causing distress or anxiety to a person to whom the material is communicated, including by means of the internet, is also an offence under the Malicious Communications Act 1988. Internet abuse could also amount to an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 if its distribution is carried out as part of a ‘course of conduct’ which alarms a person or causes distress. Under section 4 of that Act, it is also an offence to pursue a course of conduct that repeatedly puts someone in fear of violence. Changes to the law being taken forward in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill will increase the maximum penalty for offences under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 to 2 years imprisonment, and extend the time within which prosecutions under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 may be brought, to up to three years, as opposed to the current six month limit.These steps will help to ensure that people who commit these awful crimes are prosecuted and properly punished.

Rape

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to prevent the identity of rape victims becoming known to (a) their alleged assailants and (b) the families of their alleged assailant.

Mike Penning: The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 prohibits the publication of any information that is likely to lead to a person being identified as the victim of an alleged sexual offence, from the point at which the allegation has been made. But this prohibition does not prevent the complainant’s name from being used in court and therefore would not serve to conceal it from the defendant (if it was not already known to him). In exceptional circumstances a court may make a witness anonymity order under sections 86 to 90 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. Such an order prevents the disclosure of the identity of a witness (including the complainant) or any information that might allow the witness to be identified in or in connection with the proceedings except to the judge and jury or magistrates.

Road Traffic Offences: Fines

Mr John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was raised in fines for road traffic offences in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2013-14.

Mike Penning: This Government takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to finding new ways to ensure impositions are paid and to trace those who do not pay. This is why there has been a year on year increase in the amount of financial penalties collected over the last three years. It is not possible to state how much was collected for specific offences without incurring disproportionate costs as this answer could only be provided by a manual search of all live and closed fine accounts.

Dangerous Driving

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted of causing death by dangerous driving did not receive a custodial sentence in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents there were of death by dangerous driving in (a) the UK and (b) Wales in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mike Penning: Any death on our roads is a tragedy and can lead to unimaginable pain for the families and relatives of the victims. Judges already have tough sentencing options available to them but we are continuing to strengthen their options and keep the law in this area under review. Offenders given a non-custodial sentence at all courts for 'Causing death by dangerous driving' in England and Wales for the latest period available 2013 can be viewed in table 1. Defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ court and found guilty at all courts for 'Causing death by dangerous driving' in England and Wales for the latest period available 2013 can be viewed in table 2. Information on court proceedings collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice and held on the Court Proceedings Database relates to courts located in England and Wales. Court proceedings in Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly respectively.



Causing death by dangerous driving stats allcourts
(Excel SpreadSheet, 36.5 KB)




Causing death by dangerous driving stats mag court
(Excel SpreadSheet, 30.5 KB)

Legal Aid Scheme

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many firms undertook criminal legal aid work in (a) 2010 and (b) 2013.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Legal Services Commission Annual Reports show that at 31 March 2010 1697 firms held contracts to undertake criminal legal aid work and that at 31 March 2013 1592 firms held such contracts.

Crown Courts

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many criminal cases were defended in the Crown Court by litigants-in-person in each year since 2010.

Mike Penning: I refer the honourable gentleman to the linked answer provide to the right honourable member for Tootinghttp://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2014-10-21/211297/ We will write to the honourable gentleman at the same time as we write to his right honourable friend.

Public Relations

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on public relations in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: The Ministry of Justice does not spend any money on public relations.

Reoffenders

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the reoffending rate for prisoners who serve custodial sentences of (a) less than 12 months, (b) between 12 months and two years and (c) more than two years.

Andrew Selous: The latest re-offending rates available were published on 30 October 2014 in the ‘Proven Re-offending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin’ at the link below: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/proven-reoffending-statistics-january-2012-to-december-2012 This gives re-offending figures for adult and juvenile offenders, including those released from custody, between January and December 2012. The figures given below are taken or derived from table 19a of this publication. For adult offenders who were released from serving a custodial sentence of less than 12 months in 2012 the proven re-offending rate was 57.6%, for those released from serving a sentence of between 12 months and less than two years the proven re-offending rate was 37.5%, and for those released from serving a sentence of two years or more (including determinate and indeterminate sentences) the proven re-offending rate was 31.1%. The Government is undertaking the Transforming Rehabilitation Reforms to reduce re-offending, particularly among short-sentenced offenders. The Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014, which received Royal Assent on 13 March will, once commenced, change the law so that all offenders released from short prison sentences will receive 12 months of supervision in the community. We will introduce the provisions of the Act and transition services to new providers in line with the Government’s commitment to complete these reforms by 2015.



Adult proven re-offending rates
(Excel SpreadSheet, 13.5 KB)

Magistrates' Courts

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times magistrates' courts hearings in each district have had to be postponed for lack of (a) prosecution preparedness, (b) the failure of Capita interpreters' contract, (c) lack of availability of court and (d) any other reason in the last year.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Data are published in Court Statistics Quarterly showing the number of trials in magistrates’ courts which are ineffective or postponed on the day of trial. This is for a variety of agreed reasons, including “Prosecution not ready”, “Interpreter availability” and “Court administration”. However, this only includes cases that have been listed for trial and are adjourned, not for any other hearings, such as preliminary hearings, guilty plea hearings or sentencing. HMCTS does not centrally collate the data on adjourned hearings, other than trials, and the reasons behind the adjournment. The volume of trials listed in magistrates’ courts, and those which were ineffective, are published in Table 3.5 of Court Statistics Quarterly which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/court-statistics-quarterly The national Criminal Justice Board, chaired by my Rt Hon Friend the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, is overseeing the Transforming Summary Justice programme, a collaboration between police, CPS and the courts to ensure that cases in the magistrates’ courts are prepared and prosecuted in a timely and efficient manner. It is currently being rolled out.

Adoption: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many parents have been refused legal aid in cases of forced adoption in (a) Wales and (b) Newport East.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) IT systems that are used to record applications for civil legal aid do not record a proceeding type of ‘forced adoption’.There is no legal or business requirement for the agency to record this information.The LAA is able to identify adoption matters generally, but is unable to distinguish where the legal aid applicant in adoption matters are the parents of the child/children in question. Notwithstanding this, decisions to grant legal aid funding are made by the Director of Legal Aid Casework, having regard to statutory tests of the means of the applicant and the merits of the case. These tests ensure public funds are focused on the financially vulnerable and the cases where public funding is justified.

Probation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which mutual organisations have withdrawn bids for Transforming Rehabilitation contracts; and when his Department was notified in each case.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which organisations in each community rehabilitation company area bid for Transforming Rehabilitation programme contracts but were unsuccessful in becoming preferred bidders.

Andrew Selous: Only one bidder has withdrawn from the Transforming Rehabilitation competition having submitted a bid – Geo Mercia Willowdene, which included a probation staff mutual, Mercia Community Action. We received Geo Mercia Willowdene’s letter confirming their withdrawal on 4 November. None of those who submitted bids are unsuccessful at this stage as the competition is ongoing and notification of contract award is still pending.

G4S and Serco

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Statement of 12 March 2014, Official Report, column 27WS, on G4S and Serco (Contracts Update), how much of the sums to be repaid by each company is outstanding; and what other debts each such company owes to his Department.

Andrew Selous: On 12 March 2014 the Justice Secretary informed the House that G4S had agreed to repay £108.9m owed to Government on the company’s electronic monitoring contract and on two contracts for facilities management in the courts. This followed the Justice Secretary’s announcement on 19 December 2013 that Serco had agreed to repay £70.5m owed on the company’s electronic monitoring and prisoner escort contracts. The sums in question also included provision for the direct costs to Government arising from these matters. Both companies have repaid all money requested in accordance with the settlement agreements. We are not aware of any outstanding debts owed to this Department by the companies. We are managing all MoJ contracts robustly and would take swift action to recover any debt owed should we become aware of such an issue.

G4S and Serco

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Written Statement of 12 March 2014, Official Report, columns 27-8WS, on G4S and Serco (contracts update), what proportion of the penalties on (a) G4S and (b) Serco imposed have been enforced in each year; and how much is outstanding.

Andrew Selous: On 12 March 2014 the Justice Secretary informed the House that G4S had agreed to repay £108.9m owed to Government on the company’s electronic monitoring contract and on two contracts for facilities management in the courts. This followed the Justice Secretary’s announcement on 19 December 2013 that Serco had agreed to repay £70.5m owed on the company’s electronic monitoring and prisoner escort contracts. The sums in question also included provision for the direct costs to Government arising from these matters. Both companies have repaid all money requested in accordance with the settlement agreements. We are not aware of any outstanding debts owed to this Department by the companies. We are managing all MoJ contracts robustly and would take swift action to recover any debt owed should we become aware of such an issue.

Separation

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the press release of 23 October 2014 from the Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties entitled More support for separating couples and parents, how much new money will be made available to each court.

Simon Hughes: The Government is committed to making sure that when people separate they do it in the best possible way. Too many people end up fighting expensive and confrontational court battles when they could be helped to resolve their problems outside the courts. However when people do end up in court it is imperative that they have the right advice and information. The new package of support announced on 23 October is aimed at keeping disputes away from court, while those who end up in court will be provided with better support. The £2m funding identified in the announcement is not being distributed on a court by court basis. The funding will be used to support a new strategic approach to increasing legal and practical support for litigants in person in the civil and family courts. This will provide direct support in some local courts, and other courts will be able to access national support via email or telephone. This strategy has been developed in partnership with the legal and advice sectors and we are working with them on implementation.

Applied Language Solutions

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what financial penalties ALS/Capita has paid in each month of (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 for missing agreed service delivery standards since taking over the contract for the delivery of language services to his Department.

Andrew Selous: Capita TI only gets paid for completed bookings, so if it cannot supply an interpreter, it does not get paid. The Ministry of Justice manages service delivery and performance through a number of methods and remedies open to it under the contract. The Ministry is continually working with the supplier to improve performance delivery standards.If performance in a particular month falls below that stated in the contract (98%) success rate, the department receives a monetary credit from Capita TI. Service Credits can be imposed on Capita TI in line with the terms of the contract. The Service Credits are calculated at the end of each financial year and not monthly and from the beginning of the contract. In January 2012 till March 2014 the total amount of services credits are as below:The service credit amounts for Jan 2012 – March 2014£53,777.00The interpreting contract was introduced to tackle the inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the previous system. The contract has delivered significant improvements so far and we now have a system that is robust, sustainable and able to deliver a quality service at an affordable level. As a result of the contract, we have spent £27m less in the first two years it has been running, and it continues to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Human Rights

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reform UK human rights law.

Simon Hughes: We agreed in the Coalition Agreement that our obligations under the Convention will continue to be enshrined in UK law. The Agreement also makes it clear that there will be no major changes to the human rights framework before the General Election in May 2015.

Probation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department provided to which Community Rehabilitation Companies to support the development of mutual bids for Transforming Rehabilitation.

Andrew Selous: The Cabinet Office procured support for probation trust staff to develop mutual bids in the Transforming Rehabilitation competition. A full breakdown of all Cabinet Office Mutuals Support Programme contract awards, including to probation trust staff, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/suppliers-information-and-contract-opportunities The total value of the support contracts was £1,127,238. This included both bid support and, where applicable, mobilisation support to those that were named as Preferred Bidders. Bid support included commercial and legal advice, consultancy services and technical advice. Support committed during the bidding stage totalled £971,764.

Prisoners on Remand

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average age of those held on remand was in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: Bail and remand decisions are quite rightly for the independent courts to make, based on the facts of the particular case. In making remand decisions, courts must balance the risk that release on bail might pose to the public or to the administration of justice, against the detention of a person who may prove to be innocent. Defendants who are dangerous and pose a threat to society should always be remanded in custody. The requested information is provided in the table below.



Average age of prisoners held on remand
(Excel SpreadSheet, 34 KB)

Prisoners on Remand

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of self-harming there were among people held on remand in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: The number of incidents of self-harm by prisoners held on remand is published in the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics. Table 2.6 of the Self-Harm in Prison Custody tables shows self-harm incidents by status of the prisoner. All prisons have procedures to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves and additional resources and support are being provided to improve this safer custody work.

Solicitors: Rural Areas

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the ability of solicitors to provide crime duty cover in sparsely populated areas.

Mr Shailesh Vara: We are committed to continuing reform of the criminal legal aid system. Our proposals will ensure legal aid lawyers will always be available when needed, in all areas, and that people can choose the lawyer they want to help them.

Cabinet Office

Suicide: Young People

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of teenage suicides in each English region in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson: Holding answer received on 10 November 2014



The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Teenage Suicides
(PDF Document, 134.96 KB)

Cybercrime

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many crimes involving online fraud were recorded in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Fraud online
(PDF Document, 117.18 KB)

Buildings

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many buildings owned by his Department have been sold in each year since 2010.

Mr Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office sold the Freehold of 53 Parliament Street for £5.37m in March 2010.The Government Property Unit, based in the Cabinet Office, has helped the Government exit over 1500 buildings, including over 800 freehold properties, in this Parliament. This has generated over £1.4 billion in receipts and achieved cumulative, gross run rate savings of over £600 million per year against a 2009/10 baseline.If a previous Government had done more to dispose of unnecessary properties, the deficit which we inherited in 2010 would have been less.

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2014 to Question 211402, if he will place in the Library a copy of the conclusions of the 16-24 review.

Mr Francis Maude: Information relating to internal discussion and advice to Ministers from the Civil Service is not normally disclosed. The review’s findings continue to inform ongoing policy development. Further findings will be announced over time.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Creative Industries Council

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many of the members of the Creative Industry Council have their principal workplace outside London.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Holding answer received on 06 November 2014



Creative Industry Council members represent a range of national, regional and local businesses and organisations. The Council has a national remit and its mission is for the creative industries to prosper throughout the UK. This is very much the focus of its industry-led growth strategy for the sector, which is currently in its implementation stages There are 40 Creative Industry Council members; 5 of which are political figures. From the remaining 35 members, 6 members currently have their principal workplace outside of London. However, many of the members whose principal workplace is London have a strong regional presence. For example, more employees of the BBC now work outside London than in. The Arts Council England has five regional offices. Many other organisations such as Creative Skillset, Creative & Cultural Skills, UK Music, PACT, UKIE, TIGA, the Publishers’ Association, RIBA, the British Fashion Council, Design Council/CABE have a UK wide remit or represent many organisations based outside London. The strategy document *Create UK, has been developed with input from over 100 organisations in the sector from across the UK.

Internet

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to ensure that people who purchase domain names are doing so to use them for legitimate purposes and not simply to sell on at profit.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government has no plans to intervene in the management of the UK registry in this way at this time. Nominet, who operate the UK registry, are a private not-for-profit company with a public purpose objective and any changes to the way in which the registry is managed is done so through a multi-stakeholder approach. The Government supports the multi-stakeholder approach to the way the internet is managed. There is an active secondary market for domain names and Nominet has robust procedures in place to ensure brands and trademarks are adequately protected.

Broadband

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to promote greater transparency and dissemination of information by broadband providers to customers on charges incurred when changing suppliers.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom is committed to assisting consumers to exercise their choice and switch broadband service providers with greater ease and convenience. The new regime of Gaining Provider Led Notification of Transfer (GPL NoT) for switching between broadband providers that use the Openreach copper network should be implemented by June 2015. This new process should make changing providers more straightforward and transparent for consumers. No charges should be made for switching provider, however consumers must be aware of contractual obligations that might apply – such as the cost of leaving a contract early or charges for new equipment from the receiving provider.

British Telecom

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of contracts to deliver rollout of superfast broadband have been granted to BT since 2010.

Mr Edward Vaizey: There are 47 contracts to deliver superfast broadband which have been let under phases 1 and 2 of the superfast broadband programme, a further eight market test pilot projects, and five projects funded by the Defra/DCMS Rural Community Broadband Fund. The eight market test pilot projects and three of the Rural Community Broadband Fund projects are with companies other than BT. The remaining 49 projects have contracts with BT.

Broadband: Bedfordshire

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding for broadband his Department has provided to (a) Bedford Borough Council and (b) Central Bedfordshire Council in each of the last three years.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government has allocated £2.6million to the Central Superfast partnership which includes Central Bedfordshire, Bedford Borough and Milton Keynes under Phase 1 of the Superfast Broadband Programme. Funding of £34,372 has been paid to the project so far, paid in financial year 2014/15. The second phase of the programme is in the procurement process and BDUK has allocated £3.18million (to also include coverage of Luton).

Broadband: Bedfordshire

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of properties in North East Bedfordshire receive (a) broadband at speeds below 2MBPS and (b) superfast broadband; and what changes there have been in these proportions.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom publish availability data. They report that the percentage of premises in Central Bedfordshire with speeds less than 2Mbps was 8.6% and 12% in Bedford. Superfast broadband is available to 76.8% of Central Bedfordshire and 77.1% of Bedford. Between 2012 and 2013 this represents an increase of 6.5% in superfast broadband availability in Central Bedfordshire and a 1.8% reduction in the number receiving 2Mbps or below. For Bedford, figures are 1.1% increase in availability of superfast broadband and a 2.4% reduction in 2Mbps or below services. Ofcom did not publish analysis at constituency level. The Ofcom figures were released in 2013, but Ofcom are due to release an update of its Fixed Broadband Map for 2014 shortly.

Mobile Phones

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of progress in increasing mobile signal coverage to all areas.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Through the Mobile Infrastructure Project we are investing up to £150 million to improve coverage in areas with no coverage for voice calls or text messages. The project aims to address coverage in the final 0.3-0.4% of the population without basic coverage, and once built most sites in the network will have capability to provide 3G and 4G coverage. The latest site to go live on air was in North Molton in Devon, providing coverage to over 200 premises over approximately 30 square kilometres.The Government is also looking to improve coverage in areas where there is a signal from one or more of the UK network operators, but not all four. We are working with the industry to find a voluntary solution and on November 5 the Government launched a consultation on proposals including national roaming, infrastructure sharing, reforming virtual networks and a coverage obligation.

Assets

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a list of all operational heritage assets referenced in paragraph 8.1.2 of his Department's 2013-14 Annual Report and Accounts, HC8.

Mrs Helen Grant: The Department does not hold an analysis of the operational heritage assets owned by the DCMS Group and so does not intend publishing such a list. As noted, in the detail at the bottom of the table on page 134 of the accounts, these buildings are owned by The Royal Parks Agency or Arm Length Bodies i.e. the Department itself does not own any.

Buildings

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his Department's Annual Reports and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2014, which buildings are included in the valuation of £70,341,000 on page 134 of that report.

Mrs Helen Grant: A breakdown of the £70,341k can be provided by the Arm Length Bodies’ (ALBs), but a detailed split of this balance by building is only held by the individual ALBs.

Assets

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the value of individual land, buildings and monuments were which are DCMS non-operational heritage assets.

Mrs Helen Grant: This information is not held centrally by the Department. Detailed analysis (including values) of non-operational assets split between land, buildings and other is held by the Arm Length Bodies themselves.

Television

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has commissioned research into the effects of excessive watching of television.

Mr Edward Vaizey: No such research has been commissioned.

Television

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of excessive watching of television on (a) academic attainment and (b) obesity levels.

Mr Edward Vaizey: No such assessment has been made. The Department for Education and Department of Health have confirmed that they do not hold this information.